By TAKASHI YOSHIDA/ Staff Writer
August 5, 2026 at 16:01 JST
Airplanes are seen at Haneda Airport. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Travelers taking domestic flights from Tokyo International Airport must from this fall check in bags at least 30 minutes before departure, as airlines clamp down on one cause of delays.
The joint announcement by major airlines on Aug. 3 is partly in response to the increasing numbers of passengers using the airport, better known as Haneda Airport. It also removes a per-carrier approach.
“In principle, passengers who arrive after the deadline will not be able to complete procedures for their scheduled flight,” the Scheduled Airlines Association of Japan said in a statement.
Currently, All Nippon Airways Co., Airdo Co., Solaseed Air Inc. and Star Flyer Inc. all accept checked baggage until 20 minutes before departure. Japan Airlines Co. and Japan Transocean Air Co. tell passengers 30 minutes is a guideline, not a requirement.
The 30-minute rule will come into force on Sept. 1.
Skymark Airlines Inc. will make no change. It will continue to accept checked baggage until 20 minutes before departure but will revise the policy if necessary, the airline said.
Domestic flight delays have become a problem nationwide.
In fiscal 2025, flights by Japan’s major airlines were on schedule 83 percent of the time, a significant drop from the 91 percent in fiscal 2015, a decade earlier.
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