Breaking News English

Turtle's walk delays planes at Tokyo airport

Turtle - Level 0

There are many reasons for delays to airplanes. Five airplanes at an airport in Japan were delayed because of a small turtle. The turtle went for a walk on the airport runway. A pilot was waiting to take off when he saw it. The airport closed the runway. Airport staff found the turtle. They caught it with a net. The turtle was not hurt.

The turtle lived in a pond near the airport. It got into the airport under a fence. After staff caught it, an A380 airplane from the Japanese airline ANA took off. Strangely, the plane was painted in a turtle design. ANA said this was because turtles bring good luck. It hopes the turtle will bring a "bright future" to everyone.

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Turtle - Level 1

Sometimes the weather delays an airplane; other times it's a late passenger. An airport in Japan found a new reason for delays – a small turtle going for a walk. The turtle went for a walk on the runway. A pilot was waiting to take off when he saw the turtle. The airport closed the runway, and that delayed five flights. Airport staff found the turtle. They caught it with a net. The staff said it was safe and was not hurt.

The airport said the turtle lived in a nearby pond. It got under the airport fence and walked onto the runway. It might have decided to walk in the warm weather. After staff caught the turtle, an A380 airplane took off. The plane was from the Japanese airline ANA. Strangely, it was painted in a turtle design. The airline said: "Turtles are seen as bringing good luck. We hope this turtle, who came to see the flight off, signals a bright future."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Turtle - Level 2

Slowest

There are many reasons for airport delays. Sometimes it's the weather, sometimes it's a technical problem, and other times it's a late passenger. Narita Airport in Japan found a new cause – a turtle going for a walk. Narita's runway closed for 12 minutes because a small turtle was on the tarmac. The pilot of an airplane waiting to take off saw the small reptile at around 11:35am. There was an immediate search for it. This caused the delay of five flights. Airport staff managed to locate the creature. They safely removed it with a net. They reported that it was unharmed.

An airport spokesperson said the turtle lived in a nearby pond. It got under the airport fence and crawled onto the runway. The turtle might have decided to sunbathe. It was warmer than usual at the airport for the time of the year. After the turtle was caught, an A380 airplane took off. By coincidence, it was painted in a turtle design. The plane was going to the island of Okinawa in the south of Japan. An airline spokesperson said: "Turtles are seen as bringing good luck. We hope this turtle, who came to see the flight off, signals a bright future."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Turtle - Level 3

There are many reasons for delays at airports. Sometimes it's bad weather, sometimes it's a technical problem, and other times it's a passenger who is late to the boarding gate. Narita Airport in Tokyo, Japan has added a new cause of flight delays – a turtle going for a walk. The runway at Narita had to close for 12 minutes because a 2.1-kilogram turtle was spotted on the tarmac. The pilot of an airplane waiting to take off told air traffic controllers about the small reptile at around 11:35am. There was an immediate search for it. This caused the delay of five flights. Airport staff managed to locate the creature. They safely removed it with a net. They reported that it was unharmed.

A Narita Airport spokesperson said she believed the turtle lived in a nearby pond. It managed to get under a fence alongside the airport and crawl onto the runway. The turtle might have decided to sunbathe because of the warm weather. It was a lot warmer than usual at the airport for the time of the year. Shortly after the turtle was caught, an A380 airplane took off from the runway. By coincidence, the A380 was painted in a turtle design. The plane was from the Japanese airline ANA. It was going to the island of Okinawa in the south of Japan. An ANA spokesperson said: "Turtles are seen as bringing good luck. We hope this turtle, who came to see the flight off, signals a bright future."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson