MAS flights to quake-hit Japan disrupted - Malaysia Airlines announced Friday that its flights to the Narita and Haneda airports in Tokyo will be...

MAS flights to quake-hit Japan disrupted

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines announced Friday that its flights to the Narita and Haneda airports in Tokyo will be disrupted due to the massive earthquake which hit the coast of north-eastern Japan.

However, MAS Flight MH52 to Kansai Airport in Osaka Friday evening will leave as scheduled at 11.50pm, said MAS Media Relations Manager Su Wong in a statement.

She said Friday morning’s Flight MH70 from Kuala Lumpur to Narita had been diverted to Taipei.

She also said that all MAS passengers and crew at the affected airports in Japan had been accounted for and were safe.

MAS Director of Operations Capt Azharuddin Osman said in the same statement that the airline had received notification from the airport authorities to suspend flights into and out of Narita and Haneda.

"We will only be able to confirm our flight schedules once we receive clearance from the relevant civil aviation authorities.

"It is likely that flights to Japan may continue to be affected in the coming days. We will monitor the situation closely, especially the operation status of the affected airports, he added.

In the meantime, customers are encouraged to watch out for updates and the latest flight status on www.malaysiaairlines.com before proceeding to the airport or call the MAS Call Centre at 1300-88-3000.

Su Wong said customers holding special fare tickets with restrictive terms and conditions, which normally did not allow for change of travel dates, could now do so without a penalty fee for the next three months.

She said customers holding tickets that allowed change of travel dates may do so without a penalty fee. Refunds are allowed and subject to a refund administrative fee.

MAS operates 11 flights weekly between Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo, six flights weekly between Kuala Lumpur and Osaka and three flights weekly between Kota Kinabalu and Haneda.

Meanwhile, Air Asia flight schedule to Japan was not affected Friday, as its flights to Japan only run on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Air Asia expected flights D72652 from Kuala Lumpur to Haneda and D72653 from Haneda to Kuala Lumpur, scheduled for Sunday to be operating as usual, unless the situation in Japan worsened, said the airline in its website.

Customers can check their flight status on www.airasia.com or email airasiax@airasia.com for more information.- Bernama

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