Due to the effects of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, especially radiation trends related to the Fukushima nuclear power plant, European airlines have begun to shun Narita.
I was planning to fly to Paris via Frankfurt with Lufthansa, so I was really affected by this.
According to this report, although there is a direct flight from Narita, it seems that the flight is via Incheon, South Korea.
Even this is an improvement from March 24, when the flight did not even depart from Narita. However, it’s still a waste of time to stop at Incheon and get stuck there, and it’s tiring to begin with. In addition, there is no point in taking the trouble to book a direct flight to Europe that costs a little more.
I read further to see if there was anything I could do, and apparently I could change my flight to depart from Kansai or Chubu for free if I found it before March 11. Since there are direct flights from these two airports, I thought I would change my flight to depart from Chubu International Airport.
I called HIS who arranged my air ticket yesterday Sunday, but they said they can only help me after Monday. However, when I read the website more carefully, I found that the call center has extended its working hours and is open every day.
So I called them as soon as I could, and the call went through with almost no wait.
With just a call to the call center, I was able to change my flight from Narita to Chubu International Airport on the same day, and also change the flight number for my connecting flight to Paris in Frankfurt.
I also received my Confirmation within 30 minutes.
Now I can fly to Europe by direct flight with no worries, and I will be in Paris on the night of my departure as planned.
This decision to avoid Narita is based on very little scientific evidence, and to be honest, I find it annoying. However, as the radiation trend continues to be somewhat unclear, I can understand why foreigners and foreign-affiliated companies with little information would be concerned.
