String of ANA Wings Pilot Error Incidents Lead to Stern Warning from Transport Ministry

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:15 JST, August 30, 2025

After a string of operational incidents attributed to pilot error, the transport ministry issued a stern warning to ANA Wings Co., an ANA Group member, on Friday. The ministry has ordered the airline to submit a report on preventive measures by Sept. 19.

A runway incursion at Wakkanai Airport in Hokkaido on Aug. 20 is among the serious incidents. In this incident, two ANA Wings pilots violated the Civil Aeronautics Law by partially neglecting procedures to confirm the condition of the runway and landed on a runway where a bird control vehicle was traveling. The pilots were reportedly unaware of the vehicle’s presence, which the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry views as particularly problematic

According to the ministry and other sources, in another serious incident in April last year, a plane initiated its descent too early when landing at Yonago Kitaro Airport in Tottori Prefecture. This triggered the ground proximity warning system, which alerts pilots to an abnormally low approach, forcing a go-around, also called an aborted landing, at the last moment.

In June of the same year, while a plane was descending over Wakayama Prefecture en route to Chubu Airport in Aichi Prefecture, cabin pressure was manually lowered to an excessive degree without adequate monitoring of cabin pressure conditions. About 10 passengers and crew members complained of ear pain and fatigue.

Apart from these serious incidents, four operational problems primarily caused by pilot errors occurred between April and June last year. ANA Wings subsequently implemented countermeasures, such as conducting emergency inspection flights to verify pilot skills. In May this year, however, an aircraft mistakenly entered a taxiway closed for construction at Hiroshima Airport. The serious incident at Wakkanai Airport followed in August.

In response to this series of operational incidents, the ministry demanded ANA Wings conduct a comprehensive review of its safety management system and implement corrective measures, saying the safety management system is not functioning effectively across the entire company.