South Korean Airport Closes Temporarily Because Of North Korea’s Trash Balloons

An airport official said that North Korean-launched balloons carrying trash caused disruptions to takeoffs and landings at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport on Wednesday for almost three hours before daybreak.

According to the official, one balloon landed on the tarmac near passenger Terminal 2, and all three runways at Incheon were briefly closed.

Since late May, North Korea has floated hundreds of balloons carrying rubbish into South Korea.

“Several balloons were spotted in and around the airport boundaries”, the spokesperson said, noting that this was not the first time balloons had affected operations at the airport, which is roughly 40 kilometres from the North Korean border.

“Domestic and international flights were disrupted between 1:46 a.m. and 4:44 a.m., and the runways have since reopened”, Incheon International Airport Corporation stated.

Flight volume at that time of day is often low. FlightRadar24 reported that eight inbound cargo and passenger flights were diverted to South Korea’s Cheongju or Jeju airports during that time, while one China Cargo freighter from Shanghai was diverted to Yantai, China.

Several more landings and departures were delayed for several hours.

North Korea claims the balloons are in retribution for a propaganda campaign launched by North Korean defectors and activists in the South, who frequently send over balloons with food, medication, money, and leaflets denouncing the North’s government.

“Among the items carried by the North Korean balloons have been articles printed with Hello Kitty characters, badly worn clothing, and soil containing traces of human faeces and parasites”, the government of South Korea reported.

The South Korean military stated on Wednesday that approximately 100 trash balloons fell to the ground between Tuesday and Wednesday, primarily in the capital, Seoul, and the neighbouring Gyeonggi province. Most of them carried only pieces of paper.

Also read: China’s Chang’e-6 Spacecraft Returns First Samples From Moon’s Far Side