Japan earthquake forces Emirates flight to divert

One Emirates flight from Dubai to Tokyo was diverted to Osaka earlier today, an Emirates spokesperson said.

ABU DHABI // Following an 8.9-magnitude earthquake that struck Japan on Friday, most flights between the UAE and the island nation will resume operating within the next few hours.

Though several flights from the UAE to Japan were canceled earlier today, the next Etihad Airways flight from Nagoya to Abu Dhabi is expected to depart as normal at 4.30pm Abu Dhabi time today, according to an Etihad spokesperson.

The next Etihad Airways flights to Nagoya and Tokyo from Abu Dhabi are due to depart on schedule at 10pm local time tonight.

"Etihad Airways is monitoring closely the effects of the devastating earthquake off the coast of Japan and the resulting tsunami," Etihad said in a statement. "Our immediate thoughts are with the country and its people at this extremely challenging and difficult time."

One Emirates Airline flight from Dubai to Tokyo was diverted to Osaka earlier today, an Emirates spokesperson said today.

"Following Friday's earthquake that hit North East Japan, Emirates flight EK318, from Dubai to Tokyo, was diverted to Kansai International Airport in Osaka, due to the closure of Narita International Airport," Emirates said in a statement. "Emirates continues to monitor the situation closely and will resume operations to Narita as soon as possible."

Three other scheduled Emirates flights to Narita International Airport were canceled. Today's two scheduled Etihad Airways flights to Narita, which has canceled all flights for the rest of the day, landed this morning.