All Nippon Airways Co. plans to return part of its rented office space at Kansai International Airport to the airport operator by the end of October, according to informed sources.
ANA rents some 7,000 sq. meters of office space located in an annex connected to the northern part of the airport terminal. It plans to return about one-third of the space, the sources said.
As a result, Kansai International Airport will lose about 400 million yen a year in rent revenue, dealing an additional blow to the ailing semipublic operator.
In late March, Kansai International Airport unveiled a three-year business improvement plan aimed at clearing the firm's interest-bearing debt by fiscal 2027, with profitability eyed in fiscal 2005.
The airport operator has seen its number of users plunge in the wake of the SARS outbreak.
ANA's plan to return part of its rented airport facilities may make it even harder for the operator to realize its three-year plan, the sources said.
The latest move follows a three-year restructuring plan unveiled in late February by ANA, which is looking to cut costs by 30 billion yen, the sources said.
In July 2002, Japan Air System Co. also returned rented facilities to Kansai International Airport.