Airlines still flying shy of Tokyo
Australia has joined the UN World Tourism Organisation in lowering its travel warning for Japan, more than a month after a devastating magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami hit the country’s north, badly damaging nuclear facilities.
However, some airlines remain wary of committing services as passenger demand has fallen away sharply.
UNWTO said there was no reason to avoid Japan as radiation levels at the nation’s airports and ports were well within safe limits.
“The level of advice for Tokyo and surrounding areas has been lowered to high degree of caution,†the advisory said in the advice released Friday.
Australia’s overall advice for Japan urges travellers to exercise a “high degree of caution†— the third of five levels of warning
Garuda Indonesia says passenger loads between Indonesia and Japan have dipped to 50 percent. The Indonesian national carrier is reducing Japanese flight frequencies and reallocating aircraft to a route serving Saudi Arabia.
Tokyo-Jakarta-Bali flights that once flew twice a day are now reduced to a single daily service. Garuda’s Osaka-Jakarta-Bali route has also been pared back.
The airline’s five-time-a-week service from Indonesia to Nagoya is under review and may also be reduced in the face of diminishing load factors.
British Airways has suspended services to Tokyo Haneda airport, citing lack of demand. The carrier only introduced the service in February this year.
But Qantas has resumed direct services to Tokyo this week rather than operating its Narita services via Hong Kong.
Qantas crews have been overnighting in Hong Kong rather than the Japanese capital because of aftershocks and damage to infrastructure.
Ian Jarrett
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