A Korean Air jet came into contact with a Cathay Pacific Airways plane at an airport in Hokkaido in northern Japan on Tuesday, with no injuries reported, according to the South Korean carrier and local authorities.

The incident at New Chitose Airport took place when the Korean Air's Airbus A330, carrying 289 crew and passengers and bound for Seoul, was starting to move from the tarmac for takeoff, according to the transport ministry and other sources. Next to it was the Cathay Pacific plane, a Boeing 777, bound for Hong Kong with no one on board.

The tip of the Korean Air plane's left wing and the Cathay Pacific aircraft's tail area were damaged.

Korean Air said the contact occurred during "pushback," in which its aircraft was being towed to a taxiway for departure.

Snow was falling at that time and the towing car slipped, causing the incident, the airline company said.

The pushback was conducted by JAL Ground Service Co., a subsidiary of Japan Airlines Co. A JAL spokesperson said the company is confirming the details.

The Korean Air flight had been scheduled for departure at 2 p.m., but it was delayed for more than three hours due to the snow. The departure time of the Cathay Pacific flight had also been pushed back from 5:10 p.m.

Passengers on the Korean Air flight had to stay inside the plane for more than four hours after the incident took place at around 5:30 p.m.

==Kyodo

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