Pilot Shortage: Japanese Low-Cost Carriers Peach Aviation and Vanilla Air Cut 2,000 and 154 Flights Respectively

▲ Vanilla Air will reduce 154 domestic flights in June due to a pilot shortage. (Photo / from Vanilla Air’s official Facebook page)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

In recent years, traveling abroad on low-cost airlines has become a popular money-saving option for many travelers. However, two major Japanese low-cost carriers serving Japan-bound travel — Vanilla Air and Peach Aviation — have announced flight cancellations due to a pilot shortage. Among them, Peach Aviation will reduce the most flights, with an estimated total of 2,000 fewer flights from May to October.

Peach Aviation had already announced its flight reduction plan on its official fan page at the end of April due to the pilot shortage. Around 448 flights will be cut in May and June. From July to the end of October, a total of approximately 1,624 flights — including both domestic routes and the international route between Osaka and Hong Kong — will be reduced.

A similar situation has occurred with Vanilla Air, which has also decided to cancel 154 flights in June on the Tokyo Narita–Sapporo New Chitose and Tokyo Narita–Okinawa Naha routes due to the pilot shortage. These canceled flights account for one-fifth of its current total flight schedule.

Vanilla Air President Tomoyoshi Ishii apologized to the public during a press conference on the 16th for the inconvenience caused by the flight reductions. He also stated that two All Nippon Airways pilots will join the Vanilla Air team after July, at which point flight operations will return to normal. Meanwhile, all international flights will remain unaffected in June.

% List of domestic flights canceled by Vanilla Air in June. (Photo / screenshot from Vanilla Air’s official website)

% List of flights canceled by Peach Aviation from May to October. (Photo / screenshot from Peach Aviation’s official website)