Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA), the single biggest operator of Boeing's flagship 787, said it put its Dreamliner fleet back into service today following a four-month suspension due to battery problems.
One of ANA's high-tech planes arrived safely at Haneda in Tokyo on time from Sapporo in Hokkaido as a relief service with some 220 passengers aboard, the firm and airoprt officials said.
It was ANA's first commercial flight of Dreamliners since the planes were grounded worldwide after two separate incidents on Japanese-owned planes involving overheating of the lithium-ion battery packs in January.
"We have implemented full-scale preparations with some 200 test flights," ANA vice president Hiroyuki Ito was quoted by Jiji Press as saying in Sapporo's Shin-Chitose airport ahead of the departure.
"We will continue to make our efforts so that people can use the flights comfortably," Ito said.
A passenger on the flight told Tokyo Broadcasting System Television at the airport: "To be honest, I feel a sense of unease but I want to believe in ANA."
Last week ANA announced plans to resume the flights earlier than its originally planned date of June 1 as the airline completed safety tests.
