It was a ribbon-cutting day at Malpensa with All Nippon Airways' first flight from Tokyo Haneda to Milan Malpensa.
Milan is important for business and leisure traffic
This debut puts an end to the long wait for the inauguration of what is the only direct connection between Japan and Milan, originally scheduled for March 2020 and then postponed due to the outbreak of the pandemic.
“Milan is a key destination for ANA in Europe, both in terms of business and leisure traffic, and is a privileged gateway to Italy for Japanese travellers,’ said the company's CEO, Shinichi Inoue. “ Japan is a very popular destination among Italians, who are currently the fourth largest market in Europe for the number of arrivals. The new flight will certainly also be instrumental in strengthening commercial and industrial relations between Italy and Japan, which are already very solid.”
An early morning arrival in Tokyo Haneda
The route is operated three times weekly, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, with a Boeing 787-9 configured with 215 seats. “The early morning arrival in Tokyo allows our passengers, especially business travellers, to be able to enjoy the whole day. In addition, from Haneda, it is possible to continue via the ANA network to numerous domestic destinations and the Asia-Pacific region.”
Malpensa and Japan
“ANA's decision to introduce flights to Milan Malpensa further confirms the industry's strong interest in the potential of the Milan and Northern Italy catchment area. After 14 years, Malpensa once again welcomes the livery of a Japanese carrier, and today Tokyo is once again reachable with a non-stop flight, for the first time on the large Haneda hub,” said Luigi Battuello, SEA's chief commercial officer.
“A total of 27 destinations in Asia for Milan”
“In the last 12 months, transit passengers between Milan and Tokyo have totalled 200,000, a figure that rises to 300,000 if we consider Japan as a whole. With Tokyo, the number of Asian destinations rises to 27, and it is thanks to them that this year the Milanese airport system (Malpensa and Linate Ed.) welcomed a record number of 33, 2 million passengers in the first ten months of the year, up by +11% over 2019 and 2023.”
