Japan Airlines announces nonstop service to Bengaluru

BENGALURU: Japan Airlines (JAL) on Wednesday announced that it will launch a new nonstop service between Tokyo-Narita and Bengaluru, during the summer of 2020.

"The IT industry is thriving in Bangalore and is known as the Silicon Valley of India, where global corporations focusing in telecommunications, biotechnology, and automobiles are strategically based in this unique city. As direct flights are currently not in service from Japan, the launch of this route will provide customers from North America a new option when travelling to the southern region of India," JAL stated in a release.

"Reservations and ticket sales will be accepted when plans are finalized," the JAL added. Welcoming the announcement, Consul-General of Japan in Bengaluru Takayuki Kitagawa said launch of non-stop flights from Bengaluru to Tokyo (Narita) will herald a new era of more strengthened economic relation between Karnataka and Japan.

"With this development not only will tourism flourish in Karnataka and Japan but also many new businesses will be established; thereby creating lots of new opportunities," he said.

According to him, with the relaxation of visa norms from January, the new flight service is bound to see a huge increase in Indian visitors from Bengaluru to Japan. "The new flight service will enable people to travel not just to Tokyo but also to many cities in the US easily. Once the Silicon Valley of India and US are connected, we can probably expect Tokyo to become the next Silicon Valley, too. This flight service is more than a win-win, it is a triple win situation for India, Japan and the US,” he added.