At least three major airlines have added a stop in Seoul for flights in and out of Japan due to staffing and supply concerns.
Japan has had fuel, food and power shortages in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and ensuing tsunami. The world's third largest economy is also grappling with serious problems at its Fukushima nuclear plant.
British Airways, Air France-KLM and Lufthansa have moved crews to Seoul and are using catering services out of Incheon airport, adding a stop in the country for flights through Japan, a Seoul Regional Aviation Administration official said.
The stopover in Seoul adds at least two hours to long-haul flights.
Air France's sister airline, KLM of the Netherlands, has added an intermediate stop on flights out of Tokyo at Kansai airport, near Osaka in Japan, until April 8, a spokeswoman said. The carriers share a parent company but operate independently.
Other carriers serving Asia-Pacific, including Australia's Qantas, have added stopovers in Hong Kong, according to industry data.
AMR Corp, parent of American Airlines, said it planned to suspend flights from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport to Narita and one of the two Dallas/Ft. Worth to Narita round trips, effective April 6. Those flights are expected to resume April 26. Four other round trips to Narita operated by American Airlines from Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and Dallas/Ft. Worth will not be affected.
"This is driven by falling demand," AMR spokesman Tim Smith said in an email. "We continue to monitor the situation."
Delta Air Lines Inc said it would continue operating nonstop service through its hub at Narita, between Japan and the cities it served at the time of the earthquake.
Delta said on its website that it would delay the start of nonstop service between Tokyo-Narita and Guangzhou, China, to July 5 from April 6.
Qantas said Wednesday that it planned to scale back flights and cut management jobs to help offset fuel costs and an estimated $144 million hit to earnings from natural disasters in key markets.
Passenger traffic to Japan has decreased since the earthquake, with some international companies placing travel restrictions on employees.
