Japan’s Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) has recommenced its Narita to Chicago, USA service – the airline’s first transpacific freighter service to resume operation since the grounding of its entire fleet during June.
Since the grounding of flights, two of NCA’s Boeing 747s have returned to service on the airline's scheduled flights to Shanghai and Hong Kong. NCA's service from Narita to Amsterdam, the Netherlands and Milan, Italy is scheduled to resume on October 5, while the majority of services remain suspended.
According to NCA, the remaining services will resume in sequence as soon each aircraft’s airworthiness is confirmed.
In response to the grounding of its aircraft, and a business improvement order from Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism (MLIT), NCA said earlier this year that it was considering reducing its fleet by three aircraft, operating only the B747-8F model in future, as HLPFI reported here.
The reduction would serve to address some of the factors that led to the violations of the Civil Aeronautics Law of Japan, which included: inappropriate maintenance for the aircraft structure; organised manipulation and concealment of corresponding maintenance records; and a report delay to the MLIT.
www.nca.aero
