About 2,000 people have been forced to stay overnight at an airport in Hokkaido, northern Japan, after heavy snow disrupted public transport.
Train and bus services to and from New Chitose Airport near Sapporo City were canceled on Monday when record snowfall hit the city and surrounding areas.
There were lengthy delays even after train operations resumed later in the day, with areas around escalators into the airport particularly crowded.
Travelers staying overnight at the airport slept on mats or in sleeping bags that were handed out.
The airport’s operator said about 2,000 people remained stranded there through Tuesday morning.
It was the second day in a row that thousands of people were left stranded.
One man in his 40s said he was on a business trip from Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan. He said he arrived at night and waited in line for a train for about three hours, but gave up and took a sleeping bag instead. The man said he had not expected the transport disruptions to continue for two straight days.
AloJapan.com