Cathay Pacific on Tuesday said a parked aircraft at New Chitose Airport in Sapporo, Japan – with no customers or crew aboard – was "struck" by a Korean Air plane.

"Our aircraft, which was stationary at the time with no customers nor crew onboard, was struck by a Korean Air A330 which was taxiing past," Cathay Pacific said in a statement.

As a result, Cathay said flight CX583 from Sapporo to Hong Kong will not operate as scheduled, and that passengers will return to the SAR on different flights on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Korean Air said there were no injuries among the 276 passengers and 13 crew on board its plane that had been set to depart for Seoul.

The airline said its plane "came into contact" with the Cathay aircraft at 5.35pm Japan time "during pushback... when the third-party ground handler vehicle slipped due to heavy snow".

The island of Hokkaido, where Sapporo is located, has been hit by a cold front in recent days with heavy snow warnings issued in several cities.

According to reports, 46 flights were cancelled on Tuesday due to heavy snow. (Additional reporting by AFP)
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Last updated: 2024-01-16 HKT 20:37