At that time, ANA will be increasing its flights serving Haneda Airport, so the company is considering reducing 20 percent of its daily number of flights, or about 10 routes, at Narita to cope with a possible shortage of pilots.
Japan Airlines is also believed to be considering a reduction in flights serving Narita.
It seems unusual for large airline companies to reduce the number of flights serving a major international airport amid the increase in the number of foreign visitors.
New flight routes over central Tokyo will be introduced in March to increase the number of international flights serving Haneda ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. With the addition of the new routes, the annual number of international daytime takeoffs and landings at Haneda is expected to increase from the current 60,000 to 99,000.
Along with the move, the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry in September newly allocated 13.5 takeoff and landing slots a day to ANA and 11.5 slots a day to JAL.
According to several sources, ANA has been working to secure the necessary number of pilots to cater to the increase in routes serving Haneda. But it reportedly faced difficulties in doing so since three pilots are required for each long-haul route, which accounts for most of the additional flights. These routes also mainly use wide-body aircraft and the number of pilots qualified to fly them is also limited.
Thus, the company began studying the reduction in the number of international flights serving Narita from the current daily average of 42 to about 32 to cater to the growing number of flights serving Haneda.
Widespread concerns have been raised that the status of Narita as a major international airport may be diminishing. From next March, Delta Air Lines will stop serving Narita and bolster its Japan-U.S. operations at Haneda.
ANA has said it expects both Haneda and Narita, which is in Chiba Prefecture, to serve as the company’s hubs for the Tokyo metropolitan area. But a source close to the matter said, “It has become necessary for ANA to temporarily put more emphasis on Haneda, which is close to the city center, until a necessary number of pilots is secured.”
As for JAL, it plans to launch a Narita-San Francisco route sometime in March or later, but sources said the company is considering reducing some flights on other international routes.
Global aviation demand grows
The severe shortage of pilots stems from the increased worldwide demand in aviation. The shortage largely affects Japan because the country is aiming to raise its international competitiveness by increasing the number of takeoffs and landings at Haneda and by enhancing the functions of hub airports, including Narita. Low-cost carriers have gained prominence in recent years, helping to sharply raise the number of air passengers.
According to statistics from the International Civil Aviation Organization, 4.3 billion passengers flew on scheduled services in 2018, close to double the about 2.5 billion in 2008.
Competition for pilots has been fierce among airline operators.
“There was even the case of a Chinese airline company that lured a flight captain to join by offering a salary of ¥40 million, double what Japan pays,” an aviation source said.
In 2017 and 2018, regional carrier AirDo was forced to cancel flights due to a shortage of pilots, which adversely affected its corporate performance.
There were about 6,500 pilots in the nation as of January 2018. Many of them are expected to reach retirement age around 2030. Although the government has already taken measures such as pushing for the hiring of former Self-Defense Force pilots, more action is required.
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