Japanese startup Toki Air (BV, Niigata) has secured its business licence and aims to commence flight operations on June 30, the startup said, claiming that it will be Japan's first new "independent" airline launch in 14 years.

In a March 31 statement, Toki Air confirmed it had obtained the permit from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The application was filed in late November 2022. The low-cost carrier is a joint venture between the Niigata Chamber of Commerce and Niigata Association of Corporate Executives and has acquired two ATR72-600s, JA01QQ (msn 1565) and JA02QQ (msn 1620), on leases from Nordic Aviation Capital. The business licence comes ahead of its intention to secure an AOC.

From June 30, Toki Air will start operating two roundtrips a day between Niigata and Sapporo Okadama. The last passenger airline to launch in Japan that was not affiliated with one of the major carriers was Fuji Dream Airlines (JH, Shizuoka) in 2009. Toki Air is the only airline based at Niigata and it was established to improve connectivity to and from the airport. According to ch-aviation PRO airports data, five other carriers service the airport, including ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda), Fuji Dream Airlines, Ibex Airlines (FW, Sendai), JAL - Japan Airlines (JL, Tokyo Haneda), and Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon).

Meanwhile, Toki Air has also confirmed that it has entered into a general terms agreement (GTA) with Taiwan-based Air Asia Company Limited (AACL) to provide maintenance checks, repairs, and other services on the ATRs. The publicly listed MRO entity is not part of the Malaysia-based AirAsia Group.