ANA opens Hokkaido flight operations base for major emergencies
The airline has shifted part of its control functions from Haneda to strengthen continuity if a disaster or attack disrupts Tokyo.
- All Nippon Airways (ANA) has opened a new flight operations base in Hokkaido to ensure service continuity during major emergencies, like earthquakes or terrorist attacks, that could disrupt its main hub in Tokyo.
- The facility is designed to keep flights running, manage aircraft and crew scheduling, and help arrange the transport of emergency supplies to disaster-affected areas.
- The move was prompted by concerns that a major earthquake or an eruption of Mount Fuji could paralyze operations previously concentrated at Tokyo's Haneda Airport.
- Approximately 60 staff are assigned to the Hokkaido site, which will handle routine flight coordination in normal times, with its exact location kept secret for security reasons.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has launched a new flight operations facility in Hokkaido as part of its preparations for major disasters, terrorist attacks and other emergencies that could affect the Tokyo metropolitan area.
The Japanese carrier has transferred some operational functions from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport to the northernmost prefecture, with the new site entering full-scale service earlier this month.
ANA previously oversaw around 850 domestic and international flights a day from Haneda.
The facility is intended to help keep flights and essential airline functions running if a serious incident disrupts Tokyo.
It is also designed to support areas affected by disasters, including helping arrange the transport of emergency supplies.
ANA opted to split its operational base because of concerns that flight management concentrated in Tokyo could be hit by a major earthquake directly beneath the capital, a Nankai Trough earthquake in the Pacific Ocean off central to south-western Japan, or an eruption of Mount Fuji.
Around 60 staff from multiple divisions are assigned to the Hokkaido facility to sustain operations during the first week after a large-scale disaster or terrorist incident.
Beyond managing aircraft operations, the site can coordinate crew scheduling and assess whether aircraft with technical problems are fit to continue in service.
In ordinary times, the facility handles coordination for domestic flights and prepares flight plans for international services.
ANA has not disclosed the site’s exact location because of terrorism-related security concerns.
The move comes after ANA was named in March as a designated public corporation under Japan’s basic law on disaster management.
The airline has been updating its business continuity plan to adopt an “all-hazard” approach covering a wide range of disasters and emergencies.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
