Arkia's New Direct Flight to Tokyo Faces Japanese Regulatory Hurdle
Translated & summarized from Ynet by baba
Arkia's new direct flight route to Tokyo, scheduled to launch in less than two weeks, is facing a significant delay due to Japanese authorities not allowing flights to operate with a wet-leased aircraft. The airline is offering passengers alternative travel arrangements or full refunds for the first four affected flights. Arkia is seeking approval to operate the route with its own planes and hopes to resolve the issue soon.
The story in 5 lines · by baba
- Arkia's new direct flight to Tokyo is delayed due to Japanese regulatory issues with wet-leased aircraft.
- Passengers booked on the first four flights have options including rerouting, rebooking, or a full refund.
- The route was intended to break El Al's monopoly on direct flights between Israel and Japan.
- Arkia is seeking approval to operate the flights using its own aircraft.
- The airline apologized for the uncertainty and inconvenience to affected passengers.
Arkia's planned direct flight route to Tokyo, set to launch in less than two weeks, has encountered a significant obstacle. Japanese authorities are currently not permitting the flights to operate using a wet-leased aircraft, a deal where one airline rents an aircraft along with its operating crew from another company. This has forced Arkia to offer alternatives to passengers who have already booked tickets for the first four scheduled flights.
The airline has been working for months to secure the necessary approvals for the route, which was intended to break El Al's monopoly on direct flights between Israel and Japan. Arkia is now also pursuing approvals to operate the route with its own aircraft and hopes to receive them in the coming weeks.
Passengers booked for flights on October 25 and 28, and November 1 and 5, are being offered three options: a flight to Tokyo via Bangkok or Hanoi, with Arkia managing the entire journey; rebooking to another Arkia destination with a 10% discount; or a full refund. Passengers with bookings for later dates are not required to make changes at this time.
Arkia announced the direct route to Tokyo in early June, with flights scheduled to operate twice weekly using a wide-body Airbus A330. The airline emphasized that it is not abandoning the Tokyo route and apologized to passengers for the uncertainty and inconvenience caused. They are working to resolve the issue and will update affected passengers if approvals are granted soon.
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