Japan Flight Cancellations Mount as Tropical Storm Jangmi Hits Tokyo

Tropical Storm Jangmi slammed the Pacific side of eastern Japan on Wednesday, bringing heavy rain, flooding, landslides, and strong winds to the country, including to some of Asia’s major travel hubs.

As of Wednesday morning in the U.S., the storm was located about 90 miles south of Tokyo, directly parallel to the city. It is moving northeast and bringing winds of about 60 mph to the country. The winds have knocked out electricity to 60,000 households so far, and local governments have issued evacuation orders for hundreds of thousands of residents, mostly located across eight prefectures in southwestern and central Japan. At least 15 people have been injured, too.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, the storm is expected to continue moving northeastward directly along the country’s Pacific coast. The storm should move off the coast of eastern Japan and track toward the Tohoku region of northeastern Japan through Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.

By Wednesday night, the heaviest rainfall is expected to be away from Tokyo and toward the northeastern Tohoku region.

All of the major Japanese carriers have canceled flights out of Tokyo. According to FlightAware, close to 900 international and domestic flights have been scrapped because of the weather conditions, impacting nearly 90,000 passengers.

Almost all Japanese airlines, including Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways, have issued change-fee waivers in anticipation of a continuing slate of cancellations out of Tokyo on Wednesday. Both airlines are allowing passengers to either opt for a full refund or change their flights without penalties.

Waivers are also rolling out for U.S. carriers.

American Airlines issued a formal travel alert on Wednesday for all flights through both Tokyo Haneda Airport and Tokyo Narita Airport. The waiver covers flights through June 3 and allows for new travel through June 8 for all tickets without fare differences or penalties.