It is officially back. You can once again fly nonstop from the Twin Cities to Tokyo, Japan.
The Metropolitan Airports Commission celebrating the first weekday Delta flight in three years today between MSP and Tokyo's Haneda airport. The popular route dating back to the 1940's was suspended due to the COVID pandemic. The flight does not go to Tokyo’s other airport, Narita.
Metropolitan Airports Commission spokesman Jeff Lea says the flight is another step back to normalcy.
“This is just another milestone in the confidence of air travel again after the last three years and the pandemic, international travel, especially trans-oceanic flights,” Lea says. “Our international service has returned about 90% to what it was pre-pandemic with this restart of Tokyo.”
State economic development officials say there are more than 40 Japanese-owned businesses in Minnesota, and Japan is the third-largest foreign investor in the state.
“Japan is a very important trading partner to the U.S. and Minnesota,” Lea explains. “There are a number of Japanese-owned companies that operate here in the state, and the employees that serve under those companies.
It helps with connectivity to an economic engine standpoint for our region.”
The return of the Minneapolis-to-Tokyo route had been delayed multiple times throughout the pandemic after being initially halted in March 2020, as Japan kept its borders closed to international tourism longer than most other countries.
The flight operates daily via Delta. It’s not a cheap flight however. There’s already been high demand which means high prices. Google Flights currently shows prices around $3,500 through the rest of the year, with prices getting only as low as $3,200 on selected dates. And yes, that is for economy. If you want one of those fancy lie-flat seats, you’ll need a lot more.