Jan 06 (NHK) - Heavy snow has forced cancellation of flights to and from Hokkaido, keeping holidaymakers from leaving the northern main island amid the peak of the "U-turn rush."
Airline companies say almost all flights from New Chitose Airport near Sapporo bound for Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka were fully booked on Saturday.
But the runway was intermittently closed while workers cleared it of snow after 20 centimeters fell for 6 hours through 11 PM.
60 incoming and 45 departing flights were cancelled.
More than 1,000 passengers booked on the cancelled flights were forced to spend the night at the airport's terminal building that was kept open temporarily.
