NONSTOP FLIGHTS TO TOKYO TO RESUME
Japan Airlines to schedule flights for early March from San Diego airport
Nonstop f lights to Japan, which have been idled since the start of the pandemic, will resume in early March, the San Diego International Airport announced Tuesday.
While nonstop service between San Diego and Tokyo had been offered daily before the pandemic forced a shutdown of the f lights last April, the new schedule calls for three f lights a week, departing San Diego on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, through April 15. Japan Airlines has not provided specifics on its schedule changes beyond that date.
The first arrival into San Diego will be March 2, and the first departure from the San Diego airport will be March 3.
“The San Diego Tourism Authority is thrilled to have Japan Airlines resume its service between Tokyo and San Diego,” said Julie Coker, president of the San Diego Tourism Authority. “Japan is the fifth-largest overseas market for visitors to San Diego, and many San Diego-based companies have strong business ties to Japan. We are excited for the opportunity to welcome visitors back in 2021.”
The announcement came on the same day that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it
will be requiring a negative COVID-19 test for all air passengers entering the United States from other countries. The new rule, which the airlines had lobbied for in order to help revive international travel, will require travelers to be tested within three days before leaving for the U.S. and to provide written documentation of a negative result. It will take effect Jan. 26.
Before the pandemic sharply curtailed travel, the Japan Airlines f lights had proven to be popular for both leisure and business travelers. The airline was the f irst to launch nonstop f lights between Asia and San Diego when it debuted service to Tokyo in December 2012.
British Airways and Lufthansa, which last March canceled all nonstop f lights to London and Frankfurt, are allowing passengers to book f lights for travel starting in the spring, but the airlines have yet to formally confirm when they will resume service out of San Diego, said Sabrina LoPiccolo, spokeswoman for the San Diego Regional Airport Authority.