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Chinese tourists riot after flight delays in Hokkaido

About 100 Chinese tourists rioted after flights were delayed at New Chitose Airport on Friday
About 100 Chinese tourists rioted after flights were delayed at New Chitose Airport on Friday

HOKKAIDO (TR) – Dozens of Chinese tourists rioted last week after being stranded at New Chitose Airport due to record snowfall, reports TBS News (Dec. 26).

At around 8:00 p.m. on Friday, about 100 Chinese tourists went into an uproar in the airport’s international terminal following numerous flight cancellations. Some of the tourists crossed past a gate and engaged in fights with police officers who arrived at the scene.

There were no injuries in the skirmishes. However, two persons who became sick were transported to a nearby hospital.

Hokkaido Airport Terminal Co., the operator of the airport, said on Saturday that roughly 6,000 people stayed overnight night on Friday in Hokkaido after about 280 flights were canceled, reports the Nikkei Shimbun (Dec. 24).

According to the NHK (Dec. 24), about 96 centimeters of snow fell in nearby Sapporo on Friday, the most for a single day in December in the past 50 years.