A busy airport in northern Japan lost a day and dozens of flights while police and airport workers chased a brown bear around the field.
The bear showed up early in the morning last Thursday at Yamagata airport, causing a runway closure for an hour, and holding up four flights before wandering off. The bear showed up again around noon, running on the runway, causing another closure. Airport staff chased it with a car (see video below), but the runway remained closed for the rest of the day because there was no way of knowing when it would re-appear.
With hunters brought in to set up a trap and police officers surrounding the airport to prevent the bear from escaping, “we’re in a stalemate now,” airport officials said.
A bear was spotted running across the tarmac at Japan's Yamagata airport on Thursday morning.
Akira Nagai, deputy manager of Yamagata airport, told reporters that the runway was temporary closed and over 10 flights were affected. pic.twitter.com/KjVKpmRtMK
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 27, 2025
