ANA begins cargo flights between Okinawa and Singapore

ANA begins cargo flights between Okinawa and Singapore

On April 14, at Naha Airport Cargo Terminal, workers loaded an ANA cargo aircraft with cargo bound for Singapore.


May 15, 2014 Ryukyu Shimpo

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has started new cargo flights between Okinawa and Singapore as part of its international cargo project. The cargo flight on this route left for Singapore at 5:00 a.m. on April 14.

There will be six flights per week from Okinawa, with a flight time of about five hours. Singapore is centrally located in Asia and is close to countries with many industries. ANA plans to use Singapore as a new base to expand its industrial goods and foodstuffs import and export business.

With the Singapore route available, Yamato Transport will launch its Cool Takkyubin courier service to Singapore before the end of 2014.

The opening of the Singapore-Naha route brings the number of ANA freight services operating from Okinawa to eight outside Japan and four within the country. The first flight on this route carried about 41 tons of cargo, mainly electronic items and pharmaceuticals. ANA aims to keep at least 70 percent, which is the ratio of the actual cargo load by weight to the available cargo weight capacity, for future flights.

Yamato Transport, which began its Cool Takkyubin service to Hong Kong in 2013, plans to start services in Taiwan in the first half of 2014.

The head of the Okinawa branch of ANA Cargo Inc. Masaki Tanimura said, “We would like not only to use Okinawa as a hub, but also to promote local industries actively to leverage advantages for the prefecture.” An official of the prefectural government said, “Singapore is a country with high buying power. We hope to export fresh foods to the country as well. The opening of the Singapore route will be a boost for the Okinawa Trade Fair in November.”

(English translation by T&CT and Lima Tokumori)

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