The U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday it has granted three U.S. air carriers the right to launch direct flights from four U.S. cities to Tokyo's Haneda airport, paving the way for the first regular international flights to the airport since Narita airport opened in 1978.
Hawaiian Airlines will operate flights between Honolulu and Haneda, which is closer to central Tokyo than Narita airport, from Oct. 31, its first service to Japan.
American Airlines will have flights from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport to Haneda from Jan. 20, 2011, and Delta Air Lines will operate direct flights to Haneda from Los Angeles and Detroit.
The approval is based on the open skies agreement reached in December by the Japanese and U.S. governments. The agreement allows each country's air carriers to be granted late-night and early-morning landing and departure slots for up to four round trips daily between U.S. cities and Haneda airport, which is scheduled to open a new runway in October.