Global Reaction

Chinese airlines prepare for passenger rush from Japan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-03-16 13:57

Chinese people wait for flights home at Narita International Airport in Tokyo, March 15, 2011. [Photo/Xinhua]

SHANGHAI - Chinese airline companies put on additional flights to Japan Wednesday in the wake of the government's decision to evacuate citizens from areas worst hit by last week's earthquake and tsunami and affected by nuclear leakages.

Related readings:  Chinese ready to take flights home  East coast closely monitors nuke leaks from Japan  Key facts on Chernobyl nuclear accident  Japan quake sends shockwave through Chinese economy

China Eastern Airlines based in Shanghai will send an additional passenger flight, Airbus 340-300, Wednesday to Niigata Airport, where about 1,500 Chinese nationals are waiting to return to China.

China Eastern has four flights between Shanghai and Niigata every week.

Meanwhile, the Dalian branch of China Southern Airlines, another leading flagship carrier, has put on an additional flight daily from Dalian to Nagoya from March 15 to 21.

The company has replaced its smaller aircraft with the 178-seater Airbus-321 on the Dalian-Nagoya route to meet the surging evacuation demands, China Southern's Dalian branch said in a statement.

It said its Dalian-Nagoya flight takes off at 8:05 am and the return flight departs Nagoya at 12:15 pm, Beijing time.

On the busier, Shenyang-Tokyo route, China Southern uses the 272-seater Airbus-300.

Service on the Shenyang-Tokyo route was resumed Tuesday, four days after flights were canceled on March 11 following the 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan's northeast coast and triggered an array of disasters including a massive tsunami.

China Southern alone expects to carry 4,313 passengers back to China Wednesday.

The country's flagship carrier Air China said on Tuesday that it currently operates 30 flights daily, with more than 7,000 seats, between China and Japan.