Thousands stranded on Jeju as cold grounds hundreds of flights

Social Affairs

Published: 24 Jan. 2023, 15:15 Updated: 24 Jan. 2023, 17:43

Thousands stranded on Jeju as cold grounds hundreds of flights

Passengers are trapped in Jeju International Airport after flights were canceled due to heavy snow and strong winds on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

Over 70 percent of flights departing from Korea were canceled Tuesday as a cold wave gripped the country on the last day of its four-day Lunar New Year holiday.

On Jeju Island, more than 40,000 people have been trapped due to strong winds and heavy snow. Heavy snow warnings were issued at 6 a.m. in Jeju. Heavy snows have been forecast for Jeju and parts of Jeolla for Tuesday and Wednesday morning.

All 233 outbound and 233 inbound flights have been canceled as of 12 p.m. on Tuesday in Jeju, according to Korea Airports Corporation.

This includes 10 international departures and arrivals.

According to the Jeju Regional Office of Aviation, strong winds blew across the Jeju International Airport Tuesday morning, ranging from 37 kilometers per hour (23 miles per hour) to 55 kilometers per hour.

Mountainous areas on Jeju Island are expected to get 30 to 50 centimeters (20 inches) of snow through Wednesday afternoon, while five to 20 centimeters are forecast for other areas in Jeju.

“For the case of Jeju International Airport, operations have been entirely suspended on Tuesday and we cannot guarantee as of now whether systems will resume to normal tomorrow,” said a spokesperson from Korea Airports Corporation.

Heavy snow falls and strong winds blow at Jeju International Airport on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

The Jeju Regional Office of Aviation plans to increase temporary flight schedules as soon as operations at the airport resume.

Jeju is not the only place affected by the extreme cold weather accompanied by strong wind and snowfall. Around 73 percent of the departing flights have been canceled in Korea as of 12 p.m. Tuesday.

The country was gripped by a cold wave on the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, with temperatures in the morning dropping to minus 16.4 degrees Celsius (2.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in Seoul and to minus 25.5 degrees Celsius in Cherwon County, Gangwon.

The temperatures are the lowest of the season.

Windchill temperatures in Seoul dropped to as low as minus 25.5 degrees Celsius.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety sent out disaster warning text messages Tuesday morning warning people to take extreme care on their way back home due to the subzero temperatures and heavy snow forecast in parts of Jeolla and Jeju.

The extreme cold and strong winds have prevented 11 ferries departing from Jeju Tuesday, according to Jeju Ferry Passenger Terminal. A total of 14 cases of gauge freezing have been reported due to the cold weather nationwide.

Temperatures in Seoul remained at minus 14.4 degrees Celsius at 12 p.m. Tuesday, around 12 degrees Celsius lower than on the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday.

In Pocheon, Gyeonggi, temperatures dropped to minus 19.8 degrees Celsius and in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi, minus 17.9 degrees Celsius Tuesday.

According to the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), lows will be hit Wednesday and after which temperatures will return to normal.

Morning lows in parts of Gangwon are expected to drop to as low as minus 25 degrees Celsius and in Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi to as low as minus 23 degrees on Wednesday.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, LEE SOO-KI [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]