A record 132 international chartered flights will be operated to and from Tokyo's Haneda airport in August, according to data released Wednesday by the airport authority.
The Tokyo Airport Administrative Office said the August figure will bring the number of incoming and departing international chartered flights at Haneda since January to 437, compared with 471 for the whole of last year.
The international chartered flights are allowed only between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Haneda has officially been a domestic airport since Narita airport opened as the international gateway for Tokyo in 1978, but it is scheduled to regain its status as an international airport in 2009, when scheduled overseas flights are set to resume.
Industry watchers say airlines are increasing the number of chartered flights to regain the demand for international flights that had been dampened by the outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome epidemic and the Iraq war.
Of the August flights, 88 will be operated by All Nippon Airways, including flights to and from Guam and Seoul, 18 by Skymark Airlines, and two by Japan Airlines, the data show.
Four foreign airlines, including Malaysia Airlines and Qantas Airways, will also have chartered flights to and from Haneda.
ANA plans to operate daily chartered flights from Haneda to Guam in August and September, according to ANA officials.
The move is aimed at flying more passengers through Haneda, given that the airport is more accessible to the metropolitan area than Narita, and is also convenient for those in transit to other areas in Japan, the officials said.