Aircalin will close its Tokyo Narita office on September 30 and Japan branch on October 31, 2024, fully withdrawing from the Japanese market. These developments follow the airline’s July 2024 suspension of Noumea – Narita 2024 winter schedule ticket sales.
The airline’s first route to Japan was Noumea – Osaka Kansai, which it launched in June 2000 and last operated in December 2021. The Narita route was launched in 2003 and, at its peak, operated five times a week. While the frequency was reduced, it continued to operate throughout the pandemic. In addition to serving tourists from Japan, the route also allowed those traveling from mainland France on Air France to connect to the Aircalin flight to New Caledonia.
In addition to challenges related to the unrest in New Caledonia, the Narita – Noumea route was also facing headwinds in the form of slowed down recovery for international travel out of Japan due to the weak yen, as well as the increased travel time due to the inability to overfly Russia for those traveling from Paris on Air France.
With the non-stop flights discontinued, those traveling to Noumea from mainland France, Japan, or elsewhere can do so via Singapore or Sydney.
