Saipan plays historic role in charter flight

A charter flight to Saipan will make history tonight, as it marks the last departure from the old Nagoya airport and the first landing at the new Chubu international airport.

The Japan Airlines flight will arrive at the Saipan International Airport at 1:10am Thursday and will head back to Nagoya at 3:55 am.

The Marianas Visitors Authority and the Commonwealth Ports Authority will host a welcome ceremony for the over 200 passengers on board. Media representatives from Japan will be part of the tour, MVA said.

“This flight is a historical event for it is the last flight to depart from the old Nagoya International Airport and the first carrier to land at the brand new Chubu International Airport which will be called ‘Centrair’,” said MVA managing director Vicky I. Benavente. “We are very excited to be part of this historical event. We expect that the new airport will have a positive impact on the CNMI’s tourism industry.”

The Chubu region is the CNMI’s third largest tourism market in Japan, with over 10 percent of Japanese tourists flying to the islands out of Nagoya. More than 50 percent of the Japanese that visit the Northern Marianas come from Tokyo, while another 20 percent come from Osaka.

“We hope that will we entice more tourists from Chubu region to visit the CNMI as their vacation destination,” Benavente said.

JALPAK and the Japan Travel Bureau are the main organizers of the charter flight.

As part of the tour package, passengers will receive a $15 discount coupon at the DFS Galleria, a 5-course meal that is served on the Nagoya to Paris route, and a free ticket to the hot spring bath at the Centrair Airport Terminal, among other things.

The tour was advertised in two major newspapers in Japan on Feb 3 and 5 for ticket reservation. “The 206 available seats were sold out as soon as the newspapers hit the stands. It was reported that hundreds of people were on standby status for this tour package,” MVA said.

Located in an island 35 kilometers south of Nagoya, Centrair will be Japan’s fifth round-the-clock airport after Naha, New Chitose, Kansai, and Haneda airports.

The airport has a 3,500-meter runway that can accommodate jumbo jets used for long-haul flights and will allow airplanes to carry heavier loads.