Airlines scramble to maintain Tokyo schedules
As desperate efforts to contain radiation leaks at the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant continue, airlines have been adjusting their schedules to Japan.
The Australian government has updated its travel advice, adding that people should reconsider travel to Tokyo or surrounding districts due to the risk of disruptions to essential services such as transport and electricity following last Friday’s earthquake and tsunami.
However, the spokeswoman said this was not due to nuclear radiation fears but “the continuing disruption to major infrastructure, its impact on the welfare of people on the ground and continuing aftershocks”.
Qantas is maintaining its original flight capacity between Sydney and Tokyo Narita and Perth and Tokyo but is resting flight crews in Hong Kong given that Tokyo is “not a conducive environment for that (rest), particularly in terms of aftershocks being experienced”, the spokesman said.
Alitalia has joined Lufthansa in rerouting flights away from Tokyo. Alitalia will divert its 14 weekly trips to Tokyo from Rome and Milan to the southern city of Osaka, which it already serves with four weekly flights.
Lufthansa said it is maintaining the suspension of its Frankfurt-Tokyo route and sending aircraft to Osaka and Nagoya. Crews are spending the night in Seoul to avoid staying in Japan.
Air France, which is maintaining its two daily Paris-Tokyo flights, has been told by the government to “respond without delay†to demands from French nationals wanting to leave Japan.
Cathay Pacific added two extra flights from Tokyo to Hong Kong, offering 730 seats, and said its crews would not overnight in the Japanese capital.
Ian Jarrett
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