ANA to fully restore domestic flights for Tokyo airport, first time post-COVID
FILE PHOTO: The ANA flight carrying Mako Komuro, former Japan's Princess Mako and the eldest daughter of Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko, and her newly married husband Kei to New York to start their new life in the U.S. is pictured at Haneda airport in Tokyo, Japan November 14, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato
TOKYO: All Nippon Airways will restore full domestic flight services to and from Tokyo's Haneda airport starting next month to meet rising demand as Japan emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, it said on Thursday (Jun 9).
Excluding some long holidays, it would be the first time since March 2020 that the airline will not reduce domestic flights out of the main airport serving the capital, it said in a statement.
The carrier, owned by ANA Holdings, is planning 23,830 flights in and out of Haneda for July-August, exceeding the pre-pandemic number of 23,475 in 2019, it said.
Demand for domestic flights is expected to return to 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels for those months, from around 60 per cent now, ANA said.
Japan has lifted coronavirus-related restrictions as the number of cases declines domestically, although it remains cautious about opening up its borders fully to tourists.
Japan will begin allowing in a limited number of foreign tourists on packaged tours starting on Friday, requiring them to wear masks, take out private medical insurance and be chaperoned throughout their stay.
