Jeju Air (7C, Jeju) has dropped plans to operate Seoul Incheon-Fukushima, Japan, charter flights this month following crew concerns over continued radiation contamination in the Japanese coastal city.
In 2011, the outer housings of two of the six reactors at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Okuma exploded following damage from the 2011 9.1 Tohoku earthquake and the ensuing tsunami it triggered. The explosions caused a partial meltdown and fires at three of the facility's other units. Over 150,000 inhabitants were forced to evacuate after plumes of radioactivity were released across the Fukushima region and Japan itself.
As such, a Jeju Air spokesman told the Kyodo news agency last week that in light of the crews' concerns, the charter flights will be switched to Sendai, located 110 kilometres away. Inbound service is scheduled for March 18 with the outbound slated for March 20.
At present Fukushima airport is served by ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda), its ANA Wings (EH, Sapporo Chitose) unit, and Ibex Airlines (FW, Sendai) (operating as ANA Connection). Destinations served include Sapporo Chitose and Osaka Itami.
