At the last minute: the Israeli company cancels the flights to the destination

Only two weeks before the first and celebratory flight, the Arkia company is forced to postpone the launch of the direct route from Tel Aviv to Tokyo. The surprising delay comes following the decision of the authorities in Japan, who at this stage did not approve the operation of the flights using a wet-leased aircraft, an accepted practice that the company currently uses in some of its destinations around the world.

At this point, the disturbing update only concerns passengers who booked flights for the four closest dates, October 25 and 28, as well as November 1 and 5. The company clarifies that passengers who booked flights for later dates are not required to make any changes to their bookings now, as Barkia continues to fight for the line and is trying to obtain the necessary approvals to operate it using the company’s own planes in the coming weeks.

The company offers passengers whose flights were affected three courses of action. The first is a flight to Tokyo via an intermediate destination, when the first flight will depart with Arkia to Bangkok or Hanoi and from there there will be a connecting flight to Japan, with the entire route managed under the responsibility and coordination of Arkia. The second option is to change the destination to any of the other Arkia products while receiving a 10 percent discount off the price of the new ticket. The third and requested option for some passengers is to cancel the reservation and receive a full refund.

An Arkia spokesperson responded: “Arkia has been working for many months to promote the operation of the direct flights to Tokyo and to obtain all the necessary approvals. Unfortunately, despite the many efforts the company has made with the authorities in Japan, the Japanese authorities do not at this stage allow the flights to be operated using a wet-lease aircraft. At the same time, Arkia continues to work to obtain the approvals to operate the line using Arkia’s own aircraft, and hopes that the required approvals will be received within weeks The company sincerely apologizes to the passengers for the uncertainty and inconvenience caused, understands the expectation for the trip and is doing everything it can to provide a suitable solution.”

For passengers who booked directly through the company and need a detailed answer, a dedicated email address has been opened for questions on the subject at [email protected]. The company promises that as soon as new approvals are received from the authorities in Japan in the coming days, an updated notice will be issued to all passengers.