Japan Airlines' A350 airplane is on fire at Haneda international airport in Tokyo, Japan January 2, 2024. REUTERS/Issei Kato
Aviation expert has one question after plane fire
01:31 - Source: CNN
CNN  — 

More than 100 flights to and from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport are expected to be canceled on Wednesday following the fiery runway plane collision the day before, according to two Japanese carriers.

The flight cancellations will impact an estimated 20,000 passengers, reports state broadcaster NHK. This includes 9,250 Japan Airlines (JAL) passengers, the carrier told CNN on Wednesday.

The cancellations include 54 domestic flights and one international flight for Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) as well as 50 domestic JAL flights, according to both airlines.

In response, Central Japan Railway Company will provide additional bullet train services on Wednesday, according to NHK.

Travelers crowd the check-in area at terminal 2 at Tokyo International Airport at Haneda on January 3, 2024, as flight delays on one of the busiest travel days of the year following the New Year's Day holidays were made worse due to the collision on the tarmac the night before between a coast guard plane and a Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger jet, shutting down one of the main runways.

The deadly plane collision took place at 5:46 p.m. local time (3:46 a.m. ET) on Tuesday. Five people were killed when a JAL jet, carrying hundreds of passengers from the northern city of Sapporo, collided with an earthquake relief aircraft and burst into flames on landing at Haneda.

All 379 people on JAL flight 516, including eight children under the age of two, were safely evacuated from the passenger plane, according to the airline.

Five crew members died on the second aircraft, a De Havilland Canada DHC-8, according to Japan’s transport minister, Tetsuo Saito.

Video showed a huge fireball erupt as the JAL plane ignited, leaving a fiery trail down the runway.

Investigations into the crash are now underway, with experts telling CNN the successful evacuation is down to a combination of modern safety standards and JAL’s own rigorous safety culture.

Includes reporting by CNN’s Teele Rebane, Tamara Hardingham-Gill and Emiko Jozuka.