Naha flights and typhoons : what’s your experience.

8 comments

1. I’ve had to wait it out at an airport before. It’s mostly outside of your hands. The airlines will do their best to makes things happen downstream if it takes awhile or you miss a connecting flight.

2. Airlines won’t fly if there’s danger. They will fly if it’s safe. They often don’t make the call until the day of because typhoons can turn/change in strength very quickly. Even though this one looks like it’ll come near us, it could totally change directions or weaken before Wednesday.

3. Last August the big airlines (Ana/jal) were getting flights out but all budget airlines were grounded. This was during the one day the typhoon was far enough out before it came back.
   With this said, it really depends on weather and if it’s safe enough.

4. As I remember the airport was totally shut for like a day last year during the strongest part if the typhoon! Not meant for you to panic as things can change and typhoon may change its course, so dont panic now but keeo yourself informed! No easy way out..

5. my 4 day trip to Naha last year became 9 days because of the last typhoon. Flights were backed up for 2-3 days after the typhoon was over.

6. My daughter worked at Naha Airport for 6 months a few years back (temporary transfer from Itami), and it was a bad year for typhoons.

   From mid-July to mid-September it was a typhoon every week, and a lot of school excursions that all had to be rescheduled when flights were cancelled.

   Weather report looks like you’re going to get it on the 24th, but it depends on how strong it builds, if it maintains the same speed, etc.

7. First time I was in Okinawa I wanted to surprise my mother for her birthday by flying in. I had a flight with a typhoon coming in that day. We were expecting to get locked down. Luckily, my Sergeant at the time knew this and let me go. He told me “Fly you fool” and I was out the door as quick as I could. If you have been in Naha you know as soon as it hits a certain TCCOR Level they close down the base and won’t let anyone out or in. I was able to get a cab and able to get off base literally minutes before they closed down the base. The Taxi driver told me that the airport already cancelled the flights but I wanted to go to the airport to rebook in person. I ended up meeting three other Marines who were there planning to leave on the same plane. One was going back to see his family the other one was going back to go to his wedding. At the time that terminal we thought would be open 24 hours and we would stay there until next morning. The Typhoon was expected to pass over night as we were just getting the outside of it. That is until they kicked us out but not without helping us find a hotel to stay in. This is when the Typhoon was just about to hit and it was raining/pouring buckets. We ended up taking the Monorail which was somehow still operating. That thing was rocking so bad we all thought we were going to die. We ended up getting off and finding the hotel whose doors were sealed. We banged on the glass door in the pouring rain until they let us in. We were able to get a room and decided to meet up for dinner at the restaurant they had in the lobby. We ended up ordering the cheapest bottle of Sake and drinking it as we watched the typhoon pass from these huge dinging room windows showing the outside. The sake tasted like vodka it was so cheap. Luckily, the typhoon passed the next day as only the edge hit. Getting to the airport was simple but everyone from yesterday and that day trying to get a flight. I waited in line for two hours before I snuck to the front and got rebooked. I asked her…”When is my flight?” She told me “15 minutes from now…” I froze when she said that. “So I should run?” She said, “Yes, I will take your badge you run now…” With the most genuine smile before I ran across the airport. Security let me go through easy and somehow made it to my flight in time. Side note, the one going to his wedding was booked for a flight two days later. Poor fucker missed his wedding. I made it on my flight but that plane took off and it felt just like the monorail when we took off. Made it on time for my mom’s birthday do. I met the other Marine at Haneda and we found a good steak house at the airport before we parted ways. It was INSANE that I somehow made it home… I got a ton of other Barracks Typhoon stories but those are for another day.

8. Flights usually go out as long as conditions allow, but that’s up to mother nature. They don’t exactly post a window of when they expect to shut things down.