Japan’s civil aviation agency has lifted a charter flight ban for Thai-registered airliners during April and May to help ease the impact on passengers.

Japan and Thai authorities will on Thursday sign a memorandum of understanding on the suspension, on the condition that there will be stricter inspections of planes and flight schedules.

Nearly 120,000 passengers wanting to travel to Japan were expected to be affected by the flight bans during April and May, a busy time for Thai travellers.

Airlines affected included national carrier Thai Airways International and long-haul, low-cost carriers like ThaiAsiaX and NokScoot.

However, Thai AirAsia X (TAAX) issued a notification to its customers saying the airline has approval to operate its new scheduled flight to Sapporo until the end of June, offering customers flight rerouting and refunds.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has expressed concerns over the standard of safety certification of Thai aircraft by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).

The ban did not include regular scheduled flights on Thai carriers, including Thai Airways International.

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Japan and Thai authorities will on Thursday sign a memorandum of understanding on the suspension, on the condition that there will be stricter inspections of planes and flight schedules.
However, Thai AirAsia X (TAAX) issued a notification to its customers saying the airline has approval to operate its new scheduled flight to Sapporo until the end of June, offering customers flight rerouting and refunds.
Nearly 120,000 passengers wanting to travel to Japan were expected to be affected by the flight bans during April and May, a busy time for Thai travellers.