China Airlines delays flights due to Haneda Airport closure

Taipei, Jan. 2 (CNA) Taiwan's China Airlines said that it delayed the takeoff times of two flights from Taipei Songshan Airport to Tokyo Haneda Airport, after the latter was closed because of a runway collision between two planes on Tuesday.

In a statement, China Airlines said that in light of the closure, the departure of flight CI222 from Songshan to Haneda would be rescheduled from 6:25 p.m. Tuesday to 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday.

The departure of flight CI223, on the same route, will also be pushed back from 7:55 a.m. Wednesday to 11:30 a.m., the airline said.

The carrier's announcement came after a passenger plane burst into flames as it landed at Haneda Tuesday, after a collision with a coast guard aircraft that killed five people, according to news reports.

All 379 passengers and crew were able to make it safely out of the Japan Airlines plane, while five of six crew members aboard the coast guard plane were killed, the reports said.