The Japanese report said Chinese airlines will operate at least 46 more direct routes from China to Japan from Feb, citing recent CAAC documents
But that number is still not quite up-to-date if we got a closer look at all the most recent documents on the website of CAAC, showing 3 batches of proposed routes by Chinese airlines have been listed for public notice just in the first 3 weeks of this month so far (See: http://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/TZTG/2 ... 14040.pdf; http://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/TZTG/2 ... 94737.pdf; http://www.caac.gov.cn/XXGK/XXGK/TZTG/2 ... 307654.pdf).
An incomplete list of recently proposed China-Japan routes
A rough count shows more than 60 routes btwn China and Japan have been applied for by multiple Chinese airlines including HU, HO, 9C, SC, MF, GJ, 3U, JD, BK, UQ, FM, apart from the big CN3, with Osaka set to be undisputedly the most popular destination taking new/extra flights from Tianjin, Zhengzhou, Dalian, Haikou, Hangzhou, Kunming, Nanjing, Changsha, Wenzhou, Ningbo, Xi'an, Fuzhou, Qingdao, Shenzhen, Harbin, Shenyang, etc
This sudden boom of Chinese flights to Japan of course has everything to do with the continuing thaw in diplomatic ties following mutual visits of the prime ministers btwn the two neighbors in 2018, to be further boosted by a possible visit to Japan by China's paramount leader this year (bearing in mind there had been a pitiful 8-year diplomatic standoff btwn the two countries prior to 2018)
So, KIX, watch out! Hordes after hordes of Chinese tourists will soon be overcrowding its terminal
We'll see how many of these flights actually materialize
