All Nippon Airways Co. said Thursday that it will resume direct flights from Beijing to Narita Airport near Tokyo on July 11, after being suspended for more than two years against a backdrop of the coronavirus spread.
ANA will only operate one-way flights from Beijing to Narita per week on Mondays for the time being, as the Chinese government has implemented its radical "COVID zero" policy, including quarantining travelers from abroad.
Under China's tough restrictions, the direct flights from the Chinese capital to Narita in Chiba Prefecture would be suddenly suspended again if a passenger tests positive for the virus, experts say.
From Narita to Beijing, the passenger planes will be used as cargo carriers.
Since early 2020, when the outbreak began, China has suspended all direct flights between Beijing and every city in Japan with the aim of preventing the virus from entering the country.
On Tuesday, China decided to shorten the centralized quarantine period for overseas arrivals from 14 days to seven days, given the characteristics of the highly contagious omicron variant.
With China easing some COVID-19 regulations recently as part of efforts to prop up the pandemic-hit tourism industry, it agreed with Japan to restart flights from Beijing to Narita, a source familiar with the matter said.
Meanwhile, direct flights between the Tokyo and Seoul, which had been also suspended for over two years, resumed on Wednesday.