A bear halted all flights landing and taking off from a Japanese airport on Wednesday. Police said the animal, believed to be a cub, was first spotted at 1:05 p.m. at the Hanamaki Airport in the country’s northeast region, according to the Iwate Broadcasting Company. Two takeoffs and all landings were delayed for about an hour starting at 1:10 p.m. after the cub wandered onto the runway in the Iwate Prefecture, reported the outlet. The runway reopened at 2:30 p.m. after airport officials confirmed that it was no longer a threat to safety. Officials and police are searching the site for the bear, but it has yet to be found, according to the Fuji News Network. The airport office told Nippon TV that they are unsure how the bear got onto the grounds, which is surrounded by a fence that is over 6 feet tall. Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time this year that a bear halted air traffic at a Japanese airport. A black bear at northern Japan’s Yamagata Airport in June caused delays of up to an hour to four flights and a whopping 12 cancellations.
