From 13 October onwards Brussels Airport has announced that it will welcome back the Japanese airline All Nippon Airways.

All Nippon Airways will then resume flights between Tokyo Narita and Brussels Airport. The route will be operated with passenger aircraft that will be used for cargo only as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This route will be operated three times a week (Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday) by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, which has a 35-ton belly cargo capacity.

All Nippon Airways has been flying to Brussels Airport since 2015. After a temporary suspension of flights due to the current Covid-19 crisis, the direct connection between Belgium and Japan will now be re-established.

The airport has said that together with All Nippon Airways it will soon hope to be able to restart passenger flights soon as well.

Earlier this year All Nippon Airways became the latest carrier to introduce Virtual Reality (VR) as a training tool across the entire business.

In addition to cabin crew training, VR will also assist mechanics to identify and predict future risks, as well as to improve safety in all aspects of aircraft operation.

“Safety has always been a top priority for ANA and incorporating the latest VR technology into our training procedures is the next step in creating a safer environment for our employees,” said executive vice president of ANA Tatsuhiko Mitsukura.

“Time and time again, we have embraced advanced technology to train our employees because we believe that it is important to remain at the cutting edge when it comes to safety.”

ANA first began to use this advanced training system in 2018, and all 800 new flight attendants received VR training in the programme’s three distinct scenarios: internal cabin fire, sudden depressurisation and in-flight equipment check.