Runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport reopens after aircraft collision

TOKYO, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- A runway at Tokyo's Haneda Airport reopened on Monday, after a fatal collision between a Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger jet and a Japan Coast Guard plane forced its closure.

Runway C, one of four runways at the country's busiest airport, was reopened after the removal of the wreckage of the JAL aircraft and the completion of repairs.

The closure of Runway C following the accident led to the cancellation of over 1,200 flights, affecting more than 200,000 passengers during the busy New Year holidays, Kyodo News reported.

The JAL aircraft collided with the Coast Guard plane on Runway C while landing on Jan. 2, with both aircraft catching fire. All 379 people aboard the JAL flight escaped before it was engulfed in flames, but five of the six crew on the Coast Guard plane died while the surviving pilot sustained serious injuries.