Japan flights diverted away from Tokyo amid fears of radiation

Japan flights diverted away from Tokyo/Narita

Japan flights are being re-routed and re-scheduled by foreign carriers away from Tokyo because of the radiation scare from the damaged Fukushima nuclear reactors.

Alitalia and Lufthansa Airlines have shifted flights from Tokyo's Narita airport to Nagoya and Osaka.

The German carrier said in a news release that it implemented the change "in an effort to ensure that operations to Japan remain as stable as possible and provide sufficient capacity for its passengers."

Lufthansa said radiation scans for aircraft involved in Japan flights have been negative for radiation so far.

Alitalia moved flight operations to Osaka starting Wednesday to make traveling smoother for passengers.

"We are obviously testing planes for radiation, but nothing has been registered so far," said Alitalia spokesman Clemente Senni.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is working closely with U.S. carriers in monitoring the situation at the troubled Fukushima nuclear power plant, some 150 miles north of Tokyo.

American Airlines said all its Japan flights have been flying as scheduled and no changes have been made unless the situation takes a turn for the worse.

"At this point, we're monitoring things very closely and have not made any immediate decisions to change," said AA spokesman Tim Smith.

A no-fly zone within 19 miles or 30 kilometers from the Fukushima power plant is in effect and the FAA said U.S. airline pilots have been notified of the order.

Aviation security officials said that U.S. aircraft are routinely checked for radiation levels, and that they will continue to monitor planes especially those from Japan flights.

Posted by Sophia Andrews on Friday March 18 2011, 5:12 AM EST. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Travel. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0