Tokyo ( CNN ) -- Dozens of flights were canceled in and out of a northeastern Japanese city on Tuesday after construction workers came across an unexploded shell believed to be from World War II buried near a taxiway . Airport authorities in Sendai said they had canceled all 92 flights , national and international , scheduled to use the airport Tuesday after the discovery of the shell late Monday under an unpaved area beside the taxiway . Read more : World War II bomb closes part of Amsterdam airport . Members of the Japanese Self Defense Force are working to remove the ordinance , which is thought to be a U.S.-made bomb dropped during World War II , the airport said , adding that officials hope flights will be able to resume Wednesday . The device still has a fuse , which raises the risk that it could explode , and is approximately 110 centimeters ( 43 inches ) long and 35 centimeters wide , authorities said . Sendai is still recovering and rebuilding after the devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands of people and caused widespread destruction across northeastern Japan in March 2011 . The city is the largest in the region of Tohoku , which bore the brunt of the natural disasters . The damage to its airport was widely documented in images that emerged in the aftermath of the quake and tsunami .
Construction workers unearthed the shell buried near a taxiway . All 92 flights in and out of the airport have been canceled Tuesday . Authorities hope to resume flights Wednesday once the shell has been removed . Ordinance is thought to be a U.S.-made bomb dropped in World War II .