Australia's Qantas Airways has joined a number of carriers dropping plans for flights to and from regional Japanese airports as an acute fuel shortage looms over the rebound in tourist traffic to Japan. Earlier this year, Qantas had been assessing recommencing seasonal flying to Sapporo for the next ski season in Hokkaido in the north. But a specific plan did not materialize due to supplier constraints at the airport, including labor shortages. Qantas did not schedule any flights. Singapore Airlines also faces obstacles to its plan for a new seasonal route to and from New Chitose Airport. A total of 14 weekly international routes at New Chitose are expected to be dropped this summer and winter. Also in Hokkaido, plans for two summer routes each at Asahikawa Airport and Obihiro Airport were scrapped as well. The cancellations at Obihiro came from South Korea's Korean Air and T'way Air, which were unable to secure enough fuel from distributors, Obihiro city authorities said. Airports in Hiroshima prefecture and elsewhere also report difficulties securing fuel. Foreign airlines' interest in the rebounding Japanese tourism market remains strong. "Sapporo continues to be an important market and we have a lot of connections with our partner airlines to get our customers there for the next ski season," a Qantas spokesperson said. "We'll continue to review the network with a view to restarting direct flights again in the coming years."<br/>