Airlines’ response to Japan quake, radiation fears

Following are responses from airlines from several countries following Japan’s earthquake and tsunami and subsequent crisis at a nuclear power complex.

Japan’s government warned that radioactive levels had become “significantly” higher around an earthquake-stricken nuclear power plant on Tuesday.

China

Air China has cancelled flights from Beijing and Shanghai to Tokyo on Tuesday afternoon and in the evening, as well as some on Wednesday, according to the company’s website (www.airchina.com.cn).

A company spokeswoman said they were aware of the radiation issue, but that was not the reason for the cancellations. The airline just did not want aircraft remaining in Japan overnight, she added.

A source at a cargo delivery company in Shanghai said that there had been no cancellations yet of cargo flights from Shanghai to Japan. But there was already concern over radiation among some cargo companies, which have avoided using Japanese airlines heading to and from Japan, he said. He noted there was a lack of storage space and workers at Japanese airports now.

Hong Kong

A Cathay Pacific spokesperson said in a statement: “We are monitoring the situation very carefully and so far there has been no authoritative suggestion that flight operations to Japan are likely to be affected. We will continue to comply fully with guidelines from relevant aviation authorities.”

Malaysia

Malaysia’s AirAsia, Asia’s largest budget carrier by fleet size, and Malaysian Airline System, the country’s national carrier, say they are flying to Tokyo without any disruptions to schedule yet. But they say they are monitoring the situation.

New Zealand

Air New Zealand flights to Tokyo are continuing as per schedule for the time being but are being reviewed in the light of new information.

Philippines

Flights from Manila to Japan are scheduled to fly as normal. Cebu Pacific said normal operations continued, with no cancellations.

Singapore

Singapore Airlines said on its website that it is closely monitoring developments in Japan but that at this point, all its flights to and from Japan are operating as scheduled.

Thailand

Thai Airways International was still flying to Tokyo as of Tuesday morning but senior executives were in a meeting and the situation could change.

United States

Two major US airlines with big trans-pacific operations, American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc, said that they were not cancelling flights and that operations were continuing as normal.

Boeing Co said on Tuesday it had no plans to evacuate employees from Japan and expected no major impact on suppliers after Japan’s earthquake.

Vietnam

A Vietnam Airlines public relations official said there was “no basis” yet for the flag carrier to cut flights to Japan due to the radiation situation. In recent days, the number of passengers flying between the two countries on Vietnam Airlines had fallen, he said.

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