Jeju Airport resumes operation

Passengers crowd a terminal to get tickets for flights back to their home after Jeju International Airport resumed operations, Monday, after a 42-hour suspension due to heavy snowfall and strong winds since last Saturday. / Yonhap

By Lee Kyung-min

Jeju International Airport resumed operations Monday afternoon, ending a 42-hour suspension due to heavy snowfall and strong winds that caused more than 800 flight cancellations and stranded some 90,000 people.

The Korea Airports Corp. (KAC) said that it resumed flights shortly before 3 p.m., Monday. Eastar Jet 236 (a B-737) carrying 149 passengers marked the first departure from the airport in three days at 2:48 p.m.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport ordered the resumption of flights eight hours earlier than the initially set 8 p.m. after the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), lifted its nationwide cold weather advisory at noon.

KAC said it will operate Jeju, Gimpo and Gimhae airports round the clock to better meet the need of passengers until Tuesday. Usually, operating hours ends at 11 p.m to 6 a.m. to reduce the noise for residents.

The ministry said that a total of 190 aircraft with 39,000 seats in all started carrying the stranded travelers to their destinations.

For Tuesday, 215 flights providing 38,700 seats are scheduled. All 90,000 people stranded on the southern island are expected to be returned home in three days at the most, the ministry said.

KAC officials removed snow and ice from the runways, the aircraft and terminals in an effort to speed up the flight schedule.

The ministry said it plans to increase the operation hours of airport railways, subways and limousine buses departing from Incheon International and Gimpo International Airports in an effort to facilitate transport of the affected passengers.

The ministry advised passengers planning to use such public transport to set up their schedules after confirming reservations and operating hour schedules to keep traffic congestion to a minimum.

The KAC said it set up a booth at airport terminals to help those who might be in need of emergency medical attention.

Of the 90,000 stranded, more than 1,400 people stayed in the airport, and some 85,600 others found temporary lodgings around the island.

Since last weekend, the nation has experienced this winter's record lows, with temperatures plummeting to minus 18 degrees Celsius in Seoul, the first time this has occurred in the capital since 2001.

On Saturday, the KMA issued a winter weather advisory for Seoul and the surrounding capital region including Incheon, for the first time in six years. Ulleung Island off the east coast experienced a record 1 meter of snowfall over the past six days.

Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn
Site Map E-paper Subscribe Register LogIn