Heavy snowfall causes flight, travel chaos in southern areas of Korea

Heavy snowfall caused delays and cancellations of dozens of flights Sunday, mostly in the southern resort island of Jeju.

Jeju International Airport bustles with travelers as dozens of flights scheduled for Sunday were canceled or delayed due to the southern resort island of Jeju and other areas being hit by heavy snow and strong winds. [NEWS1]

Heavy snowfall caused delays and cancellations of dozens of flights Sunday, mostly in the southern resort island of Jeju.

According to the Korea Airports Corporation, 50 outbound and 50 inbound flights were canceled as of 3 p.m. Sunday at Jeju International Airport. Twenty-six outbound and 37 inbound flights were delayed.

Wind shear and strong wind warnings have been issued at the airport.

A total of 455 flights were scheduled to depart from or arrive at Jeju International Airport on Sunday, but only 38 flights continued as scheduled, the local aviation authorities said.

Due to the series of flight cancellations, Jeju International Airport bustled with passengers trying to reschedule flights.

The sea routes connecting Jeju Island and other regions were also cut off due to worsening sea weather.

According to the Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority, all passenger ships at Jeju Port were stopped as of Sunday morning due to a high seas warning issued in the region.

Korea's southern resort island also dealt with road accidents caused by heavy snow on Sunday.

The Jeju Fire Safety Headquarters received 33 reports of issues due to snow and ice as of 2 p.m. Sunday, including three traffic accidents and two stranded vehicles.

As of 10 a.m. Sunday, Mount Halla, located on the southernmost part of the Korean Peninsula, saw 31.3 centimeters (12.3 inches) of snow.

Coastal areas of Jeju Island also saw snowfall with 7.9 centimeters of snow in Seogwipo, 6.2 centimeters in Jungmun, 3.8 centimeters in Seongsan and 3.9 centimeters in Hallym.

“There are areas expecting more than 30 centimeters of snow, with heavy snow accumulating 3 to 5 centimeters per hour until Monday morning,” the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) said.

Ten to 20 centimeters of snow is expected to accumulate in the mountainous areas and 5 to 10 centimeters on the coast from Sunday to Monday in Jeju, according to the KMA.

Southern regions of the country including Gwangju and South Jeolla were also hit with heavy snowfall, causing road accidents and clogged traffic on Sunday.

At 3:04 a.m. Sunday, one driver lost control of their car on a snowy road and flipped over in Boseong County, South Jeolla, according to the South Jeolla Fire Safety Headquarters. The driver was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

A similar accident was reported in Boseong about three hours later, authorities said, with the driver again taken to a local hospital for minor injuries.

At 5:28 a.m. in Jangseong County, South Jeolla, one vehicle hit a guardrail, and in Muan, another vehicle slid between the guardrails.

At 7:34 a.m., three vehicles collided one after another on an icy road in Boseong.

Authorities also received calls for help from drivers around the southern province unable to drive over ice-covered hills.

At 1:28 a.m. and 7:31 a.m. on Sunday, fire authorities were dispatched following reports of vehicles unable to climb up and over hills in Haenam and Beolgyo in South Jeolla.

Gwangju Airport canceled a total of 12 flights as of Sunday morning.

Muan International Airport in South Jeolla saw delays in international flights heading to Bangkok, while four domestic flights were canceled.

All 54 ferry routes in South Jeolla were grounded, and some mountain roads were being controlled.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]