A Japan Airlines flight, JAL 331, with 335 passengers onboard was forced to return to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport in the early hours of February 20, after being denied landing at Fukuoka Airport due to arriving after the final 10 p.m. landing time. The passengers were provided hotel accommodations arranged by JAL after returning to Haneda. The flight had to stop at Kansai Airport for refueling en route back to Haneda.
JAL arranged a one-off flight for the passengers to Fukuoka that departed Haneda at 10:20 a.m. on February 20. The flight was initially scheduled to leave Haneda at 6:30 p.m. on February 19 and arrive at Fukuoka Airport at 8:30 p.m. that day. However, the departure was delayed until around 8 p.m. JAL is currently investigating the reason for the delay.
After arriving at Fukuoka Airport, the plane was not allowed to land due to the airport’s policy prohibiting planes from landing after 10 p.m. because of noise concerns for area residents. The plane then had to return to its departure point. It stopped at Kansai Airport for refueling before continuing to Haneda.
According to officials from Fukuoka International Airport Co., which operates Fukuoka Airport, planes may be allowed to land after 10 p.m. if the delay is deemed unavoidable due to bad weather or congestion on the airport runways. However, in this case, the officials did not view the delay as unavoidable.
Source: Asahi Shimbun, “JAL plane with 335 passengers forced to return to Haneda after being denied landing in Fukuoka,” https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14843969 (accessed February 24, 2023).
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