JAL operates Special Flights between Tokyo-Niigata

Japan Airlines is operating special flights between Tokyo and the city of Niigata on a temporary basis while the surface transport links between Niigata Prefecture and the Tokyo region remain disrupted following a series of earthquakes on October 23.

Niigata is located on the Sea of Japan, on the north coast of Honshu, Japan’s main island.

From October 25, JAL is scheduling two round trip flights a day between Tokyo’s Haneda Airport and Niigata using 298-seat A300 aircraft.

A special flight was operated on Sunday October 24, carrying relief supplies including blankets and food donated by JAL to the Niigata Prefecture Emergency Headquarters.

The JAL Group normally operates four domestic routes out of Niigata, to Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka (via Nagoya) and West Hiroshima.

JAL will operate the temporary twice-daily Tokyo-Niigata service until October 31 when the airline will review the situation.

The main rail link between Niigata and the Tokyo region is the Joetsu Shinkansen. Sections of the tracks of this super express line were damaged in the earthquake and the line will remain closed for some days while safety checks and repairs are carried out.

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