England stranded at airport amid Japan typhoon

espn.co.uk

England’s Rugby World Cup squad had to wait more than five hours when they were stranded at Narita International Airport following the fallout from Typhoon Faxai

England’s Rugby World Cup squad were stranded at Japan’s Narita International Airport for more than five hours on Monday amid the travel headache caused by Typhoon Faxai.

Winds of up to 105mph battered Tokyo overnight, causing widespread traffic congestion and forcing the canceling of many flights, including the 16-hour delay of the Australia squad’s flight to Japan.

The storm, one of the strongest to hit Tokyo in decades, had passed by the time the England team landed but transport to the team hotel in Shiodome was still heavily delayed.

Preparations from tournament organisers are unchanged following the typhoon, World Rugby told ESPN.

England will stay in Tokyo for one night before departing for a pre-tournament training camp in Miyazaki.

“An initial review of Rugby World Cup operations has determined minor impact on team arrivals and movements, venues and infrastructure, reaffirming the operational readiness of our robust contingency planning in the lead-up to Asia’s first Rugby World Cup,” a World Rugby spokesperson said.

“With Japan’s high levels of preparedness in dealing with such weather events, life in Tokyo and its surrounding areas returned to normal very quickly, with the main impact being felt around transport delays affecting the Monday morning rush hour as operators finalised inspections of the rail networks.”

England begin their World Cup campaign against Tonga on Sept. 22 in Sapporo.