Thousands of people, including 500 Chinese citizens from Hong Kong and Macau, have been stranded at the airport in Hokkaido, Japan since heavy snow paralyzed land and air transport in the region on Dec. 22.

At noon on Dec. 25, a convoy carrying food and water from the Chinese consulate in Sapporo arrived at the airport to provide aid to Chinese passengers. Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines also arranged extra flights to the airport. By press time, passengers had begun boarding the first such plane. Subsequent flights will carry the remaining passengers out of the city once weather conditions permit.