Runway C at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport Reopens after Fatal Collision (Update 2)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

20:01 JST, January 7, 2024

Haneda Airport’s Runway C reopened at 12 a.m. on Monday after a collision between a Japan Airlines plane and a Japan Coast Guard aircraft forced it to close on Jan. 2.

All four runways at the airport in Tokyo are now in operation for the first time in the six days since the fatal collision. The number of landings and takeoffs is set to be restored to pre-accident levels.

Work to restore Runway C began on Thursday evening, two days after the collision, and finished Sunday. The JAL and JCG airplanes were removed, and the surface of the runway — which had been damaged by heat and debris in a section about 90 meters wide and 30 meters long — was resurfaced. The restoration work also included repairs to holes and the filling of a ditch in the grass along the runway.

According to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, the airport handled more than 1,450 flights from Jan. 2 to Sunday.

All Nippon Airways said they were set to operate all flights to and from the airport from Monday. However, Japan Airlines plans to cancel 14 domestic flights, saying the company could not yet fully restart operation of all flights due to post-incident work. JAL’s cancellations are expected to decrease starting on Tuesday.