ANA tests farm-to-terminal produce delivery program at Haneda Airport

The Yomiuri Shimbun

November 20, 2021

All Nippon Airways began Friday the second trial run of a program that aims to provide ultra-fresh fruits and vegetables from across Japan to travelers at Haneda Airport, while also making better use of empty cargo space on their planes.

Strawberries, kiwis, shiitake mushrooms, and about seven other types of produce weighing around 220 kilograms in total will be sold at shops over the five-day trial period through Tuesday.

Shortly before noon on Friday, shiitake mushrooms harvested that morning in Kurume, Fukuoka Prefecture, were unloaded from an ANA plane that arrived at Haneda Airport from Fukuoka.

Throughout the day, more ANA flights touched down on the tarmac, ferrying more fresh produce, including Sanukihime brand strawberries and Sanuki Gold kiwis from Kagawa Prefecture, and Yokihi onion sprouts from Yamaguchi Prefecture.

Of these initial shipments, five varieties of produce had been harvested on the same day.

The products can be bought at two shops — Tokyo Shokuhinkan and Deleets — located in the airport’s Terminal 2 building.

Proposed by an ANA employee whose parents are farmers, this is the second time the airline has tested out the Haneda initiative, first introduced last month. If the experiment is a success, ANA might make it a permanent business at the airport.

“We want to create new value at airports as somewhere people can buy fresh food from all over the nation,” an ANA official said.