OSAKA, (Japan): (Bernama-Kyodo) Kansai airport in western Japan aims to expand its international routes, the head of the operator has said, revealing that discussions are underway with airlines on the resumption of flights connecting it with India and Indonesia, Kyodo News reported.
"We want to thoroughly capture demand and increase the number of new routes" for international flights at Kansai International Airport, Yasuaki Mikami, representative director and CEO of the operator Kansai Airports, said in an interview with Kyodo News.
Routes connecting Kansai airport, one of the busiest transportation hubs in Japan, with India and Indonesia have gradually been suspended since 2019.
Mikami, who assumed his current post in June, said there is strong demand from companies in the Kansai region centering on Osaka Prefecture wishing to use the airport for business travel to the Asian nations, rather than via Haneda airport in Tokyo, another hub serving both domestic and international flights.
"Flying from Kansai airport is shorter in both time and distance (than flying via Haneda,)" Mikami said, without specifying a timeline for any resumption of the flights.
The Kansai Airports group also operates Osaka Itami Airport and Kobe Airport in the region.
During the recent interview, Mikami also expressed enthusiasm for attracting flights from locations in the Midwest and East Coast of the United States.
While the number of travellers from China has declined due to deteriorating Japan-China relations, he said it is important to maintain a "balance" in the distribution of flights across various countries.
To cope with increasing e-commerce-related cargo, the operator plans to increase capital investment in the cargo area at Kansai airport.
The airport will "review traffic flow and increase capacity to establish a stable logistics system," the CEO said, while making preparations for a new cargo inspection facility.
Kansai International Airport in June completed a large-scale renovation of its Terminal 1.
Due to the expansion of the international departure area and the enhancement of duty-free shops, passengers are spending more time at the airport, with the average monthly purchase value of duty-free goods increasing by 10 per cent.
At Kobe Airport near Osaka, the operator aims to launch international scheduled flights in 2030.
Mikami expressed hope that the airport would have routes to South Korea and Taiwan, with which it has a track record with charter flights, and other Asian destinations. - Bernama-Kyodo
