Vietnamese authorities are preparing to suspend operations at four northern airports, including Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, for parts of Saturday as the nation braces for storm Yagi, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam (CAAV).
Noi Bai will be closed from 10am to 7pm, the CAAV said in a statement. Airports in the coastal cities of Quang Ninh and Haiphong will be shut from early Saturday until 4pm the same day, and the airport in Thanh Hoa will suspend services from midday until late Saturday, it said.
Yagi is forecast to make landfall on Vietnam’s northern coast from Quang Ninh to Nam Dinh provinces on Saturday, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.
The storm poses high risks to airports, said Dinh Viet Thang, head of the CAAV. Yagi may affect about 240 domestic flights and 70 international flights, he said.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Tuesday ordered northern and north-central provinces to prepare for the storm. Coastal areas such as Haiphong and Quang Ninh issued warning flares Wednesday night urging boats and ships to return to shore for shelter.
The storm has maximum sustained winds of 130 knots (241 kilometres) per hour.