ANA to start Haneda-Hong Kong route in April

The Yomiuri Shimbun

All Nippon Airways will introduce daily round-trip charter flights between Haneda Airport and Hong Kong from April 1, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.

As part of the government's Asian Gateway Initiative to expand exchanges with Asian countries, the operating hours at Haneda Airport were lengthened for international flights in June. ANA's flights to Hong Kong will be the first regular international charter flight to take advantage of the longer hours.

ANA is considering a flight that would leave Haneda at about 9 p.m. and arrive in Hong Kong early the next morning, and a return flight leaving Hong Kong early in the morning and arriving at Haneda at about 7 a.m.

The airline operates two round-trip flights a day between Narita Airport and Hong Kong. ANA expects the new flights to and from Haneda will interest tourists and businesspeople who want to make more effective use of their time.

Previously, international flights were permitted to land at and depart from Haneda between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., with some exceptions. This tight time frame made it difficult for airlines to connect Haneda and Hong Kong because flights between the airports take about nine hours.

However, in June, international flights were given the green light to leave Haneda between 8:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. and arrive between 6 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.

Flights to and from Seoul and Shanghai operate out of Haneda during the daytime, so ANA's flights to and from Hong Kong will be the third international regular route.

Further flights are expected to take to the skies between Haneda and Beijing in time for the Olympic Games in August.

However, observers said the increasing number of international flights operating from Haneda might require a rethink about the sharing of roles between Haneda and Narita airports.