Air travel emerges from turbulence of pandemic

More fuel needed

A growing number of flights to Japan have even led to a shortage of aviation fuel in the country. Tokyo's Narita International Airport said in late June that six carriers in Asia hoped to add new flights or increase flight frequencies to the airport. However, due to a shortage of aviation fuel, the airport had to postpone the plans.

Some smaller airports such as Tokachi Obihiro Airport in Hokkaido, and Hiroshima Airport, have also experienced shortages of aviation fuel. Some flights operated by Asian carriers had to import their own fuel for round trips, Japanese media reported.

Qingdao in East China's Shandong province, has also seen the number of inbound and outbound passengers at Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport continue to rise this summer.

On July 25, Qingdao Airlines launched passenger flights connecting Qingdao and Osaka three times a week. And, on Aug 1, Shandong Airlines added another seven weekly round-trip flights connecting Qingdao and Osaka, taking the total number of direct flights connecting the two cities to 24 a week, covering different times of the day.

Qingdao also plans to launch more international flights to meet growing international travel demand, local airport representatives said.

In addition, a direct flight operated by China Eastern Airlines connecting Hefei, Anhui province, and Osaka, was launched on July 28. The route is expected to provide convenient services for passengers from Anhui and surrounding areas to travel to Japan, promoting economic, cultural, and tourism exchanges between the two regions, the carrier said.