Miami, FL,
22
March
2023
|
17:27 PM
Europe/Amsterdam

World Baseball Classic lands first Tokyo-Miami flight at MIA

In addition to the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) bringing the global tournament’s semifinals and championship game to Miami-Dade County, it brought another historic moment to town – the first nonstop passenger flight of any kind from Japan to Miami International Airport.

The 13-hour charter flight by Japan Airlines carrying more than 100 passengers, which included players and staff from the eventual WBC 2023 champion Japan national baseball team and Major League Baseball employees, arrived just before 3 a.m. on March 17 at MIA’s Concourse J. Dozens of Japanese news media members and a few zealous fans were waiting patiently in the wee morning hours to greet Team Japan. While it was only a one-time charter flight and not the beginning of scheduled service, Miami-Dade County officials were still beaming with pride to welcome the first-of-its-kind flight from Tokyo’s Haneda Airport.

It was wonderful to welcome our first nonstop flight from Japan to Miami-Dade County, and to see the Japan Airlines aircraft parked at MIA, basking in the Miami sunshine. The MIA team continues exploring the possibility of nonstop service from Japan and other Asian markets to Miami. While there are no imminent plans for direct Asia flights, I am thrilled that hosting the World Baseball Classic gave us a glimpse of what it would be like for our two regions to be connected by nonstop air service.

Miami-Dade County Mayor, Daniella Levine Cava.

The morning after winning the WBC championship game on March 21 at Miami’s loanDepot Park, Team Japan departed from MIA to Tokyo’s Narita Airport. Win or lose, Team Japan’s Tokyo-Miami flight was a home run for MIA and hopefully just the first of more passenger flights between the Asian country and Miami-Dade County.

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