SAS returns to Tokyo

Shanghai is currently SAS’ only destination in Asia. But now that is changing as Tokyo is also returning to the flight programme. Both destinations are served from Copenhagen.

Since the end of last week, SAS has doubled the number of departures to Shanghai, the only long-haul route to the east since the pandemic hit. It has also been discontinued at times, but the fact that it now has two departures a week indicates that the recovery in Asia looks promising.

Now comes the next step in the resumption of air traffic to Asia: flights SK983/984 between Copenhagen Kastrup and Tokyo Haneda will again be included in the flight programme from 26 March 2023, when the summer timetable starts. It has been shut down since September 2022, mainly due to the tough restrictions in Japan. Now there will be daily traffic, according to the SAS booking system.

Traffic to Tokyo is, like that to Shanghai, excluded from Russian airspace, which significantly extends the flight time. According to SAS, the flight time to the east from Copenhagen is 13 hours and 35 minutes, while the return is half an hour longer, i.e. a couple of hours longer than if it had gone through the Siberian Corridor. An Airbus A350-900 will be flying the route.

The fact that SAS is now restarting traffic to Tokyo Haneda Airport means that Stockholm Arlanda’s hopes for its own route to Japan are increasing. In the years 1992 – 1997, SAS flew between Stockholm and Tokyo, but since then the traffic has originated from Copenhagen. Just before the pandemic, ANA All Nippon Airways had given the go-ahead for a direct route to Stockholm that would start in the summer season of 2020. But Covid-19 put an end to those plans.

Source: Flygtorget