Typhoon Dolphin slammed into Japan’s southern Ryukyu islands on Friday, forcing Naha Airport to shut down and canceling every domestic and international flight in and out of Okinawa — and because the storm is slow-moving, the JMA has warned of severe conditions through at least Sunday, making this a multi-day disruption rather than an overnight inconvenience. Reuters confirmed more than 500 flights had been grounded across Japan by midday Friday, while All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines have already pre-canceled all service to Naha, Miyako, and Ishigaki airports for Saturday as well.
Travelers with reservations for any flight into or out of Okinawa’s main island or its outer islands this weekend should treat Saturday cancellations as certain and Sunday cancellations as likely — and should rebook now through airline apps or websites, not by phone. JAL call centers face long waits.
Naha Airport Is Closed for All Flights, Domestic and International
Naha Airport, the main gateway to Okinawa Island and the hub for Peach Aviation’s Okinawa operations, confirmed it closed on Friday and that all flights have been canceled for the day — no partial suspension, no limited service. According to Japan Airlines’ official advisory, six airports across the Okinawa region are closed for the full day on Friday: Naha, Miyako, Kumejima, Tarama, Ishigaki, and Minamidaito. ANA has confirmed all flights to and from Naha, Miyako, and Ishigaki are grounded on both Friday and Saturday.
Peach Aviation, which operates extensive low-cost service through Naha, has activated a no-fee special handling waiver for flights to and from Naha, Ishigaki, Amami, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima on August 7 through 9. On August 8 and 9, Peach’s affected airport list expands to include international routes touching Taipei’s Taoyuan Airport, Shanghai Pudong, and Hong Kong. Under the waiver, cancellation and change fees are waived regardless of the fare type originally purchased. Passengers need to check whether their specific flight is eligible through Peach’s website or app before making changes.
Taiwan’s carriers have also pulled most Okinawa service. China Airlines canceled its Taoyuan-Naha and Kaohsiung-Okinawa flights on Friday, and its Taichung-Okinawa service on both Friday and Saturday, and EVA Air canceled all Taoyuan-Naha flights for both days. Hong Kong Express and Greater Bay Airlines canceled their Hong Kong-Okinawa service for August 7 and 8.
How Long Will Okinawa Flights Stay Grounded?
The most critical detail about Typhoon Dolphin is not its wind speed but its pace. The storm has been moving slowly westward — the JMA forecasts severe conditions through Sunday across the Okinawa region through Sunday, August 9. Weathernews, which tracks JMA data, flagged that Dolphin’s wide storm-force wind radius means Okinawa may experience prolonged rough conditions.
After the typhoon clears the Ryukyu chain, it is expected to cross into the East China Sea and make landfall on China’s eastern coast between Sunday evening local time and early Monday. That trajectory suggests the earliest realistic window for any flight resumption at Naha Airport is Sunday evening at the optimistic end, with Monday morning being a more conservative estimate. No reopening announcement had been made by Naha Airport as of this writing — travelers should monitor the airport’s official site and their airline’s app for updates before going anywhere near the terminal.
In practical terms, anyone stranded in Okinawa on Friday is likely looking at a minimum 48-hour wait. With August being Okinawa’s peak domestic tourist month — beaches and coral reefs draw the highest concentration of Japanese and regional international travelers of the year — the backlog of passengers competing for the first available flights will be substantial. Rebooking immediately is essential because seat availability on Sunday and Monday flights is already at risk.
What Stranded Travelers Should Know About Airline Waivers
ANA, JAL, and Peach have activated typhoon-related flexibility policies, but passengers need to understand what those policies do and do not cover before acting.
The waivers allow free date changes and full refunds regardless of the fare category originally purchased. Japan Airlines has confirmed the waiver is active for its Okinawa-region routes; passengers can request a free rebooking or a refund through the JAL website, since call centers are currently overloaded. ANA’s waiver covers affected airports for August 7 and 8, with eligibility checkable at the carrier’s flight information page. Peach’s waiver runs through August 9 for domestic affected airports, and through August 9 for its affected international routes as well.
There is one limitation travelers should be aware of before changing to a pricier flight: in most cases, the waiver covers change fees but not fare differences. If the only available seat on a replacement flight costs more than the original ticket, the passenger pays the difference. This was the same structure Cathay Pacific used during Typhoon Noul last month, and it applies widely across carriers during weather events.
A second limitation: Japanese carriers are not legally required to provide hotel accommodation for natural disaster cancellations — a different standard from European Union rules under EU261 regulation, which mandate accommodation for cancellations within the carrier’s control. Travelers stranded in Okinawa bear hotel costs themselves. Some airlines do offer accommodation assistance voluntarily, so it is worth asking, but travelers should not count on it.
For passengers whose flights have not yet been canceled but who want to change proactively, Peach’s waiver window through August 9 provides flexibility to move without penalty. The practical recommendation: use the airline app, not the phone; confirm the cancellation in writing before filing any travel insurance claim; and keep a copy of the official cancellation notice if a rental car refund is also needed.
Where Typhoon Dolphin Stands Right Now
Typhoon Dolphin, designated Typhoon No. 13 by Japan’s meteorological agency, was positioned just north of Okinawa’s main island as of Friday afternoon, according to the JMA, with maximum sustained winds of 144 kph (89.5 mph) and gusts reaching 198 kph. The storm began as a tropical depression on July 26 in the Central Pacific and strengthened through multiple stages — briefly reaching what some agencies classified as super typhoon intensity — before settling at its current strength.
The JMA classifies Dolphin as a large and powerful storm, a designation in the agency’s own scale that does not map precisely onto the 1-to-5 Atlantic hurricane categories used in some international coverage. The current wind speed places it in the range equivalent to a low-end Atlantic Category 1 storm, though the storm’s size and a central pressure of approximately 940 hectopascals indicate it carries significantly more energy than that comparison might suggest.
Dolphin is also bringing its outer wind bands over the Kyushu region, compounding an already difficult situation for Kumamoto prefecture, which is still reeling from a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck last week. Around 6,700 Kumamoto residents remain in evacuation centers after homes collapsed, and residents whose houses were already damaged were placing tarps on roofs Friday to prevent additional water damage ahead of Dolphin’s rains, according to the Associated Press.
The JMA has also issued a separate warning about heatstroke risk, with temperatures forecast to reach 36 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas once the storm passes and humidity remains high — a hazard for travelers who may be waiting outdoors or in under-air-conditioned spaces.
Is Okinawa Safe Right Now?
The Japan Meteorological Agency is urging residents and visitors currently in the Okinawa region to stay indoors through the weekend. Evacuation orders cover approximately 260,000 residents in Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures, according to Reuters, and 240 people had moved to official shelters as of midday Friday. Three people — all men in their 70s — had been slightly injured in wind-related incidents as of the AP’s midday report, with two caught outdoors in gusts and a third knocked off a stool while preparing for the storm.
Travelers who are already in Okinawa and whose flights have been canceled should not attempt to go to the airport or venture toward the coast. One risk specific to slow-moving typhoons: an apparent lull during the storm’s eye passage can give a misleading impression that conditions have improved, when the second half of the storm — sometimes the more intense side — is still incoming. The JMA’s advisory to stay indoors applies through Sunday regardless of any temporary breaks in weather.
Ferry services between Okinawa and its smaller surrounding islands are also suspended. Typhoon recovery for sea transport in Japan typically runs 24 to 48 hours after a storm clears, so inter-island connections are unlikely before Sunday at the earliest.
Taiwan’s Central Weather Administration issued a Friday afternoon sea warning, with the agency warning of hazardous sea conditions through the weekend. Anyone traveling from Taiwan should monitor the CWA for further updates as the storm continues westward.
AloJapan.com