Japan's Narita airport to cut user fees to help struggling airlines

The operator of Japan’s Narita airport said Thursday it will reduce user charges for airlines currently operating international or domestic passenger flights in a bid to help their businesses hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Narita International Airport said it will waive landing and parking charges for all scheduled domestic flights, while reducing the amount for international flights. The measure will be put into effect retroactively from April. It will be in place until the number of flights exceeds 50% of those logged in fiscal 2019 and a recovery trend can be expected. “We are staking everything to maintain the aviation network of the country,” said Akihiko Tamura, the company’s president. For international flights, small-sized aircraft will receive a Y30,000 ($280) reduction, while Y70,000 will be cut for medium- or large-sized planes with a maximum takeoff weight of 100 tons or more. The number of arrivals and departures between April and September at the airport near Tokyo dropped 64% from a year earlier to 47,986. The number of passengers tumbled 94% in the same period due to travel restrictions imposed amid the pandemic, according to the company.<br/>