Public concern is mounting over a government plan to open new commercial flight routes over central Tokyo for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in light of incidents in which aircraft parts have fallen from the sky.

The transport ministry has been discussing the new routes — which are needed to expand flight slots at Tokyo's Haneda airport — with surrounding residents for over two years. But the parts mishaps are further fanning public unease about aviation safety.

In September, a panel fell off a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines plane that took off from Kansai International Airport for Amsterdam. The panel hit a car driving along a street in Osaka but no one was injured.