7,000 spend night at Hokkaido airport as heavy snow halts flights, trains

Around 7,000 people were forced to spend the night at Hokkaido's New Chitose Airport on Sunday as 56 flights connecting the northern Japan hub with other major cities were canceled amid heavy snow, the operator Hokkaido Airports Co. said.Sapporo logged 54 centimeters of snowfall in the 24 hours through 7 p.m. Sunday, a record high for January, according to the Hokkaido government.Over 500 train services were canceled Sunday as snow was removed, including those serving New Chitose Airport, and linking Sapporo with Asahikawa and Hakodate, affecting about 130,000 people, JR Hokkaido said. Some…READ FULL ARTICLE