By Anadolu Staff
ANKARA (AA) – Bad weather has disrupted air traffic in parts of South Korea as dozens of flights were grounded on the southern island of Jeju, local media reported on Wednesday.
So far, 31 domestic flights have been canceled from and to the Jeju International Airport, following the weather agency issued alerts for high winds and wind shear, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Wind shear refers to a sudden change in wind speed or direction.
According to airport authorities, 259 domestic and 14 international flights were scheduled for the day and the airlines already canceled 167 in advance.
“The wind was blowing as strong as 25.7 mps (meters per second), equivalent to a quasi-typhoon, over the airport, causing disruptions to aircraft operations,” the agency quoted an unnamed official of the weather department as saying.
The weather agency also forecast wind gusts to reach 12.8 to 23 meters per second later today from 11.8 mps in the morning.
*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid