SilkAir offers seven direct Singapore-Okinawa flights in June

SILKAIR is offering seven direct charter flights between Singapore and Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture, from June 1 to 25, 2016, that will halve the journey time between the two points.

The flights, jointly launched by SilkAir, the Okinawa prefecture government and Changi Airport Group (CAG), are part of efforts by the three parties to promote a direct Singapore-Okinawa air link.

The flights will be operated with SilkAir's latest Boeing 737-800 aircraft, featuring both business and economy class cabins. The flight time for the non-stop service from Singapore to Okinawa's capital Naha will be about five hours and 15 minutes.

The flights are launched as a follow-up to the first-ever such flights between September 2014 and January 2015, which garnered high interest, according to SilkAir's vice-president for commercial, Ryan Pua.

CAG's senior vice-president for market development, Lim Ching Kiat, noted the non-stop flights will halve the journey time between the two cities and bring greater convenience to Singapore passengers.

"We are excited about the potential of establishing more such flights on a regular basis, and eventually building a sustained travel demand that will drive the launch of scheduled passenger services on this route in the future," Mr Lim said.