OSAKA -- More and more travelers are taking advantage of bargain late-night flights departing from Kansai International Airport off Osaka, according to airport officials.
The flights, which enable holidaymakers to take longer vacations, are particularly popular with younger people, they said.
Kansai airport, which is the only airport in Japan open 24 hours a day, has started reaping the benefits of measures aimed at enticing airlines to operate during this time slot, the officials said.
These include offering the airlines cheaper landing fees.
The two airlines currently operating late-night services are Bangkok-based Angel Airlines and Thai Airways International.
Angel Airlines began service from Kansai airport to the Thai island resort of Phuket late last month.
The flights, which depart each day at 1 a.m. and arrive in Phuket around 8 a.m. local time, have proved extremely popular with younger working women and students.
Since last fall, Thai Airways International has been running four Bangkok-bound flights per week, all of which depart at 1:20 a.m.
Airline officials said these flights were fully booked for the yearend period and for other holidays adding that 30 percent of passengers travel via Bangkok to neighboring countries that cannot be reached directly from Japan.
They also said they intend to expand this service in the fall.
Previously, the only late-night flights from the airport have been cargo flights.
Last year, however, the airport introduced a discount system with regard to its landing fees in an attempt to encourage airlines to operate passenger flights, according to airport officials.