ID :
170619
Thu, 03/24/2011 - 18:21
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Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/170619
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Foreign airlines mixed in responses to Japan disaster
TOKYO, March 24 Kyodo - Some airlines are planning to resume flights to and from Narita airport near Tokyo, but others are poised to reduce their services in Japan nearly two weeks after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated the country's northeast and brought about its worst nuclear crisis.
German airline Lufthansa said Thursday it will resume regular flights to and from Narita International Airport from Friday following suspension due to anxieties about the nuclear accident in Fukushima Prefecture about 220 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.
Italy's Alitalia and Australia's Jetstar also plan to resume flights to and from Narita from Friday and Monday, respectively, the Japanese transport ministry said.
But Singapore Airlines will cut its flights connecting Haneda and Singapore from two round-trips a day to one from Monday as they think there will be a decrease in foreign travelers to Japan in the wake of the March 11 quake and tsunami, airline officials said.
Hong Kong-based Dragonair officials said flights between Naha in Okinawa Prefecture and Hong Kong have been temporarily suspended since it operated the last flight on March 17.
The airline had been operating two round-trip flights a week and plans to resume them on July 3, the officials said.
U.S.-based Delta Air Lines has already said it will suspend its daily flights from Los Angeles and Detroit to Haneda airport.
Lufthansa has diverted its flights to and from Narita airport to other Japanese airports such as Kansai International Airport near Osaka after the crisis hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
But the airline said it has decided to resume the service after considering the current situation's safety ''in a comprehensive manner,'' a spokesperson said.
The United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization said last week there is currently no medical basis for imposing restrictions on international flight and maritime operations into and out of Japan.
In a related development, the Russian government has ordered Russian airlines flying into Japan from Moscow and the Russian Far East not to receive water supply at Narita airport after radiation-tainted water was detected in eastern Japan.
German airline Lufthansa said Thursday it will resume regular flights to and from Narita International Airport from Friday following suspension due to anxieties about the nuclear accident in Fukushima Prefecture about 220 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.
Italy's Alitalia and Australia's Jetstar also plan to resume flights to and from Narita from Friday and Monday, respectively, the Japanese transport ministry said.
But Singapore Airlines will cut its flights connecting Haneda and Singapore from two round-trips a day to one from Monday as they think there will be a decrease in foreign travelers to Japan in the wake of the March 11 quake and tsunami, airline officials said.
Hong Kong-based Dragonair officials said flights between Naha in Okinawa Prefecture and Hong Kong have been temporarily suspended since it operated the last flight on March 17.
The airline had been operating two round-trip flights a week and plans to resume them on July 3, the officials said.
U.S.-based Delta Air Lines has already said it will suspend its daily flights from Los Angeles and Detroit to Haneda airport.
Lufthansa has diverted its flights to and from Narita airport to other Japanese airports such as Kansai International Airport near Osaka after the crisis hit the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
But the airline said it has decided to resume the service after considering the current situation's safety ''in a comprehensive manner,'' a spokesperson said.
The United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization said last week there is currently no medical basis for imposing restrictions on international flight and maritime operations into and out of Japan.
In a related development, the Russian government has ordered Russian airlines flying into Japan from Moscow and the Russian Far East not to receive water supply at Narita airport after radiation-tainted water was detected in eastern Japan.
