Hong Kong tourists in Japan face flight and rail disruption caused by Typhoon Lan
- Rail and road links to Osaka’s Kansai airport halted on Tuesday as typhoon made landfall in western Japan
- Hongkongers describe uncertainty over whether they would be able to catch flights home
Hongkongers’ travel plans were thrown into chaos after Typhoon Lan hit western Japan on Tuesday, with flights out of Osaka only resuming in the evening and transport links to the city’s Kansai airport having earlier ground to a halt.
As Lan arrived south of Osaka on Tuesday morning, all rail services to Kansai came to a stop and the only bridge linking the Japanese mainland to the island airport was closed for most of the day.
Tony Ng, 52, who works in the construction sector, was to return home on an HK Express flight from Kansai in the afternoon after a six-day family holiday in western Japan. But the budget carrier told him that the flight was postponed until 11.30pm.
Ng’s group of three moved out of their guest house in Osaka one night early on Monday as a precaution, and booked two nights at a hotel a railway station away from Kansai airport. They also had an extra night booked as a backup in case of further delays.
But he was forced to change plans again when he checked into the hotel on Monday night.
“The hotel’s receptionist told me that if we did not head to the airport right now, we could miss our flight on Tuesday,” Ng said.
He added his group grabbed their luggage, cancelled the hotel reservation and dashed to the airport.
