Major Japanese carriers have shrunk domestic schedules after the country entered a state of emergency to try and halt the spread of Covid-19.
This applies to Tokyo, Osaka, and five other prefectures, and was effective 8 April. It takes the form of a request rather than an order, but gives authorities more power to encourage people to stay home and businesses to close.
In response, Japan Airlines (JAL) said on 10 April it was stepping up cuts to its domestic network over the next couple of weeks.
From 12-19 April, JAL is increasing average daily flight reductions by 194 to 415, meaning its domestic network has been cut by 49% for that period.
By comparison, its domestic network was reduced by 16% between 6-28 March. For the rest of April, its domestic network will be reduced by about 32% compared to its normal schedule.
In a 9 April update, All Nippon Airways (ANA) said it was changing flight frequencies for certain cities, affecting a total of 1,523 flights serving 56 routes.
A scan of the schedules indicates frequencies on ANA’s domestic routes affected are roughly halved.
AirAsia Japan will also halt all domestic flying with from 9-30 April.
In a separate update today, ANA said it will extend cuts to most of its international services into the first two weeks of May.
From 25 April to 15 May, 3,323 of its flights serving 71 different routes are affected. It planned to serve 3,676 flights on 72 routes during that period.
New routes from Tokyo Haneda to San Francisco and San Jose will now be postponed until 16 May. The carrier previously postponed the launches until 25 April.
Likewise, JAL said today it will update its international route for April and May.
It plans to cut international services by some 94% in May, while operating cargo-only flights on selected routes.It also cut capacity further for April, with reduced services on routes to London, Paris, Frankfurt, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, among others.
This story has been updated with the latest statements from ANA and JAL on 13 April.
