December 22, 2023, 08:29 PM
More than 8,000 passengers were stuck and could not fly out of Jeju International Airport due to severe weather conditions amid the ongoing arctic cold snap in South Korea.
The runway was suspended on Friday, Dec. 22 morning due to heavy snowfall and strong winds, which has been reported as a "blizzard".More than 260 flights to and from Jeju Island were cancelled as of Friday afternoon, including 137 domestic arrivals and 122 departures.
Jeju authorities issued special weather advisories for Jeju International Airport amid the cold wave.
Jeju received snowfall of up to about 20cm between Wednesday and late Thursday afternoon.
Mount Halla, the highest mountain on Jeju, recorded a cumulative snowfall of 59.6cm in the same period.
The airport resumed operation after more than seven hours following the completion of snow removal operations on the runway, Jeju airport said, as reported by The Korea Herald.
The wings and fuselages of aircraft had to be defrosted, which resulted in varying flight times.
Temperatures in Seoul fell to -14.7°C when the cold wave peaked on Friday morning, Yonhap reported.
Other places were colder, with the Gangwon Province hitting -20°C.
Top photo via Google Maps
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