Starting in late March, the number of international flights at Central Japan International Airport, also known as Centrair, will return to what they were before the Lehman Brothers collapse in September 2008, reaching 294 per week when airlines switch to their summer timetables.

This is because carriers based in East Asia, including China, South Korea and Hong Kong, will increase their regular flights to Centrair in expectations that more foreign tourists will be heading to the Chubu region, in addition to Japanese business and vacation travelers.

Compared with the winter schedules that kicked in last October, the number of flights will increase by 31 a week, the biggest rise since the airport opened in 2005.