An airport in Japan recently made headlines for not allowing a Japan Airlines plane to take off for landing 10 minutes late. According to reports, the plane was flying from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to Fukuoka Airport in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka Prefecture, and was carrying 335 passengers. The aircraft started late from the originating airport, resulting in a delay in arrival at the destination airport, which has a final landing cutoff of 10 pm. The aircraft arrived at 10.10 pm and was made to make a U-turn and return to Tokyo airport, located 1,000 km away.
According to a local newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, the plane was scheduled to take off on February 19, 2023 at 6.30 pm, but was delayed until 8 pm for unknown reasons. Covering a distance of over 1,000 km, the aircraft covered the distance in 2.10 hours, and reached Fukuoka 10 minutes after the final landing cutoff time of 10 pm. The airport turned back the plane and the 335 passengers on board had to travel another five hours to Tokyo.
The report further stated that the return was delayed due to a brief stopover at Kansai airport for maintenance and refueling. The plane landed back at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport at 2.50 am. The airline arranged a hotel for the passengers to stay, and on the morning of February 20, 2023, a flight took the passengers to Fukuoka.
According to airport guidelines in Fukuoka, no aircraft are allowed to land after 10 pm to avoid disturbing people living nearby. While the rule can be relaxed in the case of inclement weather and other unavoidable delays, officials decided that Japan Airlines’ delay was unavoidable.
Interestingly, according to aviation analytics firm OAG, Japan Airlines is the world’s second most punctual airline with 88.07 per cent OTP, while Tokyo’s Haneda Airport is one of the world’s most punctual airports. The Japanese transportation system, including trains, subways, and aviation, is considered one of the most punctual in the world.