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Qantas Group cancels resumption of Australia-Sapporo as Japan’s fuel and labor shortages persist
June 21st 2024
Qantas Airways has opted out of returning to major ski resort, Sapporo in Hokkaido, because of staff shortfalls and fuel shortages at Japan’s regional airports. Read More » Singapore Airlines also faces obstacles to its plan for a new seasonal Singapore-New Chitose Airport route, reports Nikkei. It is forecast 14 weekly international routes to New Chitose will be dropped this summer and winter. According to the newspaper, Japanese refiners are finding it difficult to quickly ramp up jet fuel production. “We are struggling just to keep up with increased demand from All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines. It is hard for us to take sudden orders from international carriers,” a source at Eneos Holdings told Nikkei. Also holding back fuel deliveries is Japan's “2024 problem”, which has resulted in a shortage of truck drivers and has been exacerbated by new national overtime restrictions. One June 18, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism held its first public-private meeting about the fuel shortages. Policymakers said they will consider short, medium and long-term measures to improve access to fuel after discussions with airlines, airport operators and refiners.
