Major international airports in Japan saw a sharp decrease in travelers heading for Hong Kong on Saturday after local and international authorities issued travel warnings over severe acute respiratory syndrome.
At Narita airport, east of Tokyo, and Kansai International Airport, in Osaka Prefecture, boarding gates for flights to Hong Kong were deserted.
The handful of passengers heading for the city, which has been heavily hit by the new type of deadly pneumonia, were mostly non-Japanese; the few Japanese waiting for flights reside or work in the area.