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Japan
This Week in AsiaEconomics

Japan’s JAL and ANA to launch more flights from ‘convenient’ Haneda airport than Narita

  • Many Tokyo-bound passengers prefer to fly to Haneda as it is closer to the city centre than from Narita
  • Given the strong demand for travel to Japan, there is room for another airport in Tokyo but this could lead to local resistance

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A Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger jet taking off next to an All Nippon Airways (ANA) jet at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo. Photo: AFP
Julian Ryall
Japan’s two primary carriers All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Japan Airlines (JAL) are increasingly shifting passenger flights away from Tokyo’s Narita International Airport to Haneda as part of a “dual hubs” strategy.
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Haneda is by far the favourite point of arrival or departure for visitors to Tokyo, thanks primarily to its proximity to the city centre. A train or monorail will complete the 18km journey into the heart of Tokyo in less than 20 minutes, while it takes up to 45 minutes to reach the city from Narita by rail.

Haneda was opened in 1931 but deliberately sidelined after the opening of Narita in 1978 and largely relegated to operating domestic routes. The surge in international travel in recent years has led to the government approving a massive expansion plan for the site alongside Tokyo Bay, which saw Haneda transform into the chosen gateway to Japan for millions.

That popularity means that JAL and ANA have been taking up as many landing and departure slots as possible for their passenger aircraft at Haneda also transferring cargo operations and flights with their low-cost carriers to Narita.

From March 31, JAL will have 131 weekly international flights out of Narita on 20 routes, down sharply from 280 flights on 31 routes in the summer of 2019, the last year that air travel was not affected by the global coronavirus pandemic.

Similarly, ANA has scheduled 116 international weekly flights on 18 routes out of Narita from this summer, down from 294 flights on 34 routes before the Covid-19 crisis.

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