All Toki Air flights will be suspended until at least January 14, 2025, the airline announced on January 9, 2025. The disruption comes as the airline is facing delays in sourcing spare parts required to repair its aircraft following a series of incidents.
One of the aircraft, an ATR 72 registered JA02QQ, was struck by lighting in December 2024 during a flight from Nagoya Chubu to Niigata. The aircraft has been grounded since then with repairs expected to be completed around January 20, 2025.
The other aircraft, an ATR 72 registered JA01QQ, encountered problems with fuel system and was grounded at Nagoya Chubu in mid-December 2024. While it was repaired and put back into service allowing Toki Air to operate a reduced schedule until the return of JA02QQ into service, the aircraft encountered another technical issue on January 6, 2025, while making its way from Nagoya Chubu to Niigata.
With the issue requiring the replacement of a de-icing system on the leading edge of the aircraft’s wing, the aircraft is currently grounded. While the repair was originally expected to be done by January 10, 2025, it is taking longer for the required spare parts to arrive in Japan than originally planned.
“…the parts that need to be replaced will be transported by air from overseas and then by land to Niigata Airport, so there is a possibility of delays depending on road conditions and weather. In addition, since there is no indoor work space such as a hangar for the part replacement work, the work time may be extended depending on the weather at Niigata Airport (snow or rain),” said Toki Air’s statement, indicating further delays are a possibility.
Toki Air, which launched scheduled operations in January 2024, currently serves Sapporo Okadama, Sendai, and Nagoya Chubu out of Niigata. It operates the network using the two ATR 72s. While it took delivery of an ATR 42 recently, it has not put the aircraft into service yet.
