Thousands of passengers across Japan faced unexpected chaos on January 20, 2026, as a powerful winter system and cascading operational issues forced the cancellation of 137 flights and delays to another 280 services operated by ANA Wings, Air Do, Ibex Airlines, Japan Airlines (JAL), Jetstar Japan and other domestic carriers.

Stranded travelers crowded terminals from Tokyo and Narita to Sendai, Aomori and Kobe, with many reporting scant information, long queues and uncertainty about when they would be able to move again.

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Blizzards and Low Visibility Trigger Nationwide Disruption

The disruption was driven primarily by severe winter weather sweeping across northern and northwestern Japan, with blizzards, high winds and rapidly deteriorating visibility forcing airlines to suspend or delay operations for safety reasons. Meteorologists had warned of heavy snow along the Sea of Japan coast and in Hokkaido beginning over the weekend and intensifying into Tuesday, prompting advisories against nonessential travel and raising early concerns for air transport.

New Chitose Airport near Sapporo once again emerged as one of the hardest-hit gateways, with heavy snowfall and strong crosswinds limiting runway availability and slowing ground operations. While many of the outright cancellations were concentrated on routes to and from Hokkaido, knock-on effects quickly rippled through the wider domestic network, affecting flights that connected through Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita hubs and key regional airports such as Sendai and Aomori.

Conditions were highly variable across the country. Even airports that escaped the most intense blizzards contended with intermittent fog, gusting winds and de-icing backlogs, complicating airline efforts to keep tightly scheduled domestic operations running on time. In several cases, aircraft departed far behind schedule only to miss connecting banks at major hubs, forcing carriers to reassign equipment and crews and cancel subsequent legs.

Major Carriers Grapple With Scale of Cancellations

Among the operators on the front line, regional and domestic specialists bore a disproportionate share of the immediate impact. Air Do, which focuses on services linking Honshu with Hokkaido, logged dozens of cancellations and delays as its network centered on New Chitose temporarily seized up. ANA Wings, a key operator on shorter domestic routes for the ANA group, also experienced extensive disruptions as weather-related restrictions and crew deployment challenges mounted through the day.

Japan Airlines reported dozens of cancellations and even more delays on its domestic schedule, particularly on flights into and out of northern regions where conditions were most severe. While international operations continued largely as planned, the carrier warned that some arrivals and departures could face indirect fallout from congestion and ground-handling delays at shared terminals.

Smaller operators such as Ibex Airlines, which serves cities including Sendai and Aomori, recorded fewer absolute cancellations but still faced significant operational stress. A handful of scrapped flights on thinner regional routes meant that some communities effectively lost air links altogether for extended periods on Tuesday, leaving travelers with limited options for rebooking or surface transport substitutions.

Tokyo, Narita and Regional Hubs Struggle With Crowds

Although the worst of the weather hit northern prefectures, the disruption was starkly visible in the capital region. At Haneda, one of the world’s busiest urban airports, domestic departure halls filled with passengers whose flights had been delayed upstream or whose onward connections had been canceled. Long lines formed at airline service counters as customers sought new itineraries, lodging assistance or simple confirmation of when aircraft would be ready to board.

Narita, which combines a large international footprint with a significant domestic presence, also experienced congestion as delayed inbound services from affected regions threw schedules off balance. Travelers arriving from overseas to connect to domestic legs found themselves unexpectedly stuck, sometimes with limited Japanese language skills and little clarity on when the weather might improve enough for operations to normalize.

Regional hubs including Sendai, Aomori and Kobe reported scenes of crowded departure lounges and improvised sleeping areas, as late evening cancellations left some passengers with no immediate way to leave the airport. While airport authorities opened additional waiting zones and attempted to bolster staffing at information desks, many travelers complained of difficulty obtaining up-to-date information in English and other languages.

Passengers Report Confusion, Long Waits and Limited Support

For affected travelers, the most common themes on January 20 were confusion and waiting. With airlines adjusting schedules repeatedly through the day as conditions shifted, digital departure boards and mobile apps sometimes lagged behind real-time decisions, leaving passengers unsure whether to remain at the gate or seek assistance at ticket counters. In some terminals, announcements were frequent but difficult to understand over crowded concourses.

Families traveling with small children, elderly passengers and tourists unfamiliar with Japan’s geography were among those hardest hit. Several domestic travelers attempting to return home after long holiday visits in Hokkaido described being rebooked on flights more than 24 hours later, with limited guidance about interim accommodation. Others reported being told to seek refunds or rebooking online despite patchy airport Wi-Fi and overburdened customer service channels.

International visitors heading to popular ski resorts such as Niseko faced a different challenge. Many had timed their arrivals and connecting domestic flights closely, only to find the final legs to Hokkaido canceled or heavily delayed. Some opted to transfer to long-distance trains where available, but others were left searching for last-minute hotel rooms in Tokyo or Sapporo as evening approached and alternative transport options dwindled.

Airlines Cite Safety Priorities but Face Questions on Preparedness

Carriers emphasized that, despite the inconvenience and financial damage linked to mass cancellations, safety considerations left them with little choice. Strong crosswinds, low visibility and active snow clearing on runways combine to create hazardous conditions for takeoff and landing, and Japan’s airlines have historically maintained high safety and reliability records by erring on the side of caution during winter storms.

At the same time, the sheer number of affected flights on January 20 has reignited debate over how well prepared the domestic network is for increasingly volatile winter conditions. Industry observers noted that Japan’s leading carriers typically operate with tight aircraft and crew rotations, which maximizes efficiency when conditions are normal but can magnify the impact of short-notice weather suspensions. Once banks of short-haul flights begin to slip behind schedule, recovery often requires wholesale timetable adjustments rather than minor tweaks.

Some passenger-rights advocates and travel industry analysts argued that while severe weather is beyond the control of airlines, communication strategies and contingency plans remain areas for improvement. They pointed to overcrowded call centers, inconsistent information between airport screens and websites, and a lack of proactive multilingual messaging as shortcomings that turned an already difficult day into an ordeal for many visitors and residents alike.

Economic and Tourism Impact in Peak Winter Travel Season

The timing of the disruption is particularly sensitive as Japan navigates one of its busiest winter travel periods. January is high season for domestic leisure travel to ski resorts and hot spring destinations in northern Japan, as well as a popular month for international tourists drawn by favorable exchange rates and the promise of deep powder snow. The combination of flight cancellations and travel advisories urging people to avoid nonessential journeys is expected to dent short-term tourism revenues across affected regions.

Local businesses in Hokkaido, Tohoku and along the Sea of Japan coast, many of which depend heavily on winter visitors, face the prospect of lost bookings and last-minute cancellations. Hotels, ski operators and tour companies reported a wave of inquiries from travelers uncertain whether to proceed with trips planned for later in the week, as forecasters warned that heavy snow and strong winds could linger in some areas through January 25.

For airlines and airports, the financial impact will also be significant. Beyond immediate fuel and labor costs associated with disruption management, carriers must contend with compensation policies, rebooking fees waivers and additional charter or recovery flights required to reposition aircraft and crews once conditions improve. Airport operators, meanwhile, bear the cost of extended staffing, de-icing operations and crowd management in terminals stretched beyond their usual capacity.

Authorities and Operators Move to Stabilize Operations

Airport authorities and airline operations centers spent much of January 20 working to contain the disruption and prepare for gradual normalization as conditions allow. Ground crews focused on keeping runways and taxiways clear of snow and ice during brief weather lulls, while air traffic controllers coordinated closely with airlines to sequence departures and arrivals around localized squalls and wind gusts.

Several carriers introduced flexible travel policies for passengers booked on affected routes, allowing fee-free changes or cancellations over a defined period. Travelers scheduled to fly into the hardest-hit airports over the next few days were urged to check flight status repeatedly before departing for the airport and to consider earlier or later departures where availability existed. In some cases, airlines added larger aircraft on routes less affected by weather in order to absorb passengers displaced from canceled services.

Local governments in affected prefectures monitored the situation closely, in part because sustained air travel disruption can complicate emergency response and logistics during periods of extreme weather. Coordination between transport, tourism and disaster management agencies is expected to intensify if the storm system persists or expands into additional regions later in the week.

What Travelers Can Expect in the Coming Days

With meteorological agencies forecasting continued heavy snow and strong winds along Japan’s north and west coasts through at least January 25, travelers should anticipate further disruptions, particularly on domestic routes serving Hokkaido, Tohoku and the Sea of Japan corridor. Even if the number of outright cancellations declines, delays are likely as airlines work through backlogs and reposition aircraft and crews displaced by the January 20 shutdowns.

Passengers planning to travel within Japan in the coming days are being advised to build in additional time for transfers, maintain flexible itineraries and stay closely attuned to airline notifications. Experts recommend ensuring that airlines have up-to-date contact details, downloading carrier mobile applications where available, and preparing contingency plans such as alternative train routes or overnight stays near major hubs like Tokyo, Osaka or Sapporo.

For now, the images of crowded terminals in Tokyo, Narita, Sendai, Aomori and Kobe underscore how quickly a severe winter system can overwhelm even one of the world’s most punctual and highly regarded domestic aviation networks. As Japan’s airlines and airports work to restore normal operations, the events of January 20 will likely fuel renewed scrutiny of how the sector communicates with passengers and strengthens resilience against the increasingly unpredictable extremes of winter weather.