Air India operates more, bigger flights to Japan

State carrier Air India has started flights with bigger capacities to Tokyo and has increased their frequency to help bring back Indians from Japan as concerns about the spreading nuclear crisis worsened, reports Reuters.

It is u sing a jumbo B 747-400 aircraft, which has a capacity of 423 passengers, instead of the scheduled B 777-300ER, a spokesman told Reuters, adding the airline normally did not operate flights to Japan on Thursday.

It has increased the flights' capacity from March 16 to 19, he said.

Air India has so far brought around 900 passengers to India from Japan since the country was hit with an earthquake and a tsunami last week, he said.

An aviation official in Asia said there had been a sharp drop in demand to fly to Japan coupled with a rush to leave. And private jet companies said they were inundated with requests for help with evacuation.

In addition to the flight to Tokyo, Air India also has three flights a week to Osaka, which continue to operate as per schedule.