Air India to operate Jumbo 747 to Tokyo daily

New Delhi, Mar 17: A looming threat of radiation leak is prevalent in Japan and with a large number of people wanting to leave Japan amid fear of a nuclear fallout following earthquake and tsunami in the country, Air India has decided to operate a daily direct flight with Jumbo 747 to Tokyo.

The national carrier has deployed Boeing 747-400 ''Jumbo'', with a capacity of 423 seats, on Delhi-Tokyo route instead of Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, an airline official said.

The flight (AI-306) would leave Delhi between Mar 16 and 19, at 2300 hours and reach Tokyo Narita airport the next morning at 0950 hours (local time).

The return flight would have a quick turnaround and leave Narita at 1130 hours (local time) to reach Delhi at 1800 hours (local time).

So far, the carrier has brought back around 900 passengers from Japan since the country was hit with earthquake and tsunami.

Apart from this, Air India also operates three flights a week to Osaka which would continue to operate as per schedule.

Air India has also decided to waive off all penalties for re-booking, cancellations and refunds on all types of tickets for travel to or from Japan up to Mar 31, the official said.

PTI