Stranded passengers continued to fill the terminals at Hong Kong International Airport on Monday,following the disruption caused by Typhoon Noul. The storm, which triggered city’s first No 8 and No 9 storm signals of 2026,led to the cancellation of around 400 flights over the weekend. Authorities anticipated that normal operations would resume by the morning,but many travelers faced delays.
As of 12:45 PM,the airport's website reported that 12 flights originally scheduled to depart on Sunday had been rescheduled for Monday. Among these were three flights that were set to take off between 5 PM and 11:15 PM. However, the situation remained complicated, with eight departure and eight arrival flights still canceled on Monday.
On Monday morning,the South China Morning Post noted that passengers were forming orderly queues at check-in counters. Yet,many were left waiting overnight on benches, hoping airlines would resolve the backlog from the weekend's cancellations. One traveler,Xing Tai, who had flown in from Beijing, expressed frustration after her Saturday flight was canceled,leaving her stuck at the airport for an entire day.
Despite the lifting of all typhoon warnings on Sunday evening,the impact of Noul lingered. storm's severity had caught many off guard, leading to significant travel disruptions . As the day progressed, travelers remained hopeful that their flights would eventually take off,while airport staff worked to manage the chaos.
With the typhoon now passed,the focus shifted to restoring normalcy at the airport. However,the backlog caused by storm meant that many passengers would have to wait longer than anticipated. The situation underscored the challenges faced by airlines and airports in the wake of severe weather events,particularly in a region prone to typhoons.
