Skymark Airlines Co. plans to start late-night round-trip flights between Tokyo and Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, this summer -- the first regular late-night flights in Japan in more than 30 years, Skymark sources said Wednesday.
The airline, which plans to use Tokyo's Haneda airport for the plan, hopes to get approval from the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry by late April, they said.
If approved, the Haneda-Naha flight would be offered five days a week from early July to early September at fares below those set by the major airlines. A one-way ticket from a regular carrier currently costs about 36,000 yen.
A midsize aircraft capable of carrying up to 250 passengers would depart from Haneda at around 11 p.m. and arrive in Naha before 2 a.m. The return flight would leave Naha at about 3:30 a.m. and return to Haneda before 6 a.m.
Haneda airport is open around the clock, but is presently used only by cargo jets and international charter flights late at night. Skymark plans to use vacant slots at both airports to launch the service.