Japan airline to go ahead with Tokyo-Mexico City flights

Tokyo, Jan 27 (IANS) Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) on Friday said it will go ahead with its plan to operate daily flights between Tokyo and Mexico City from February, the media reported.

The largest Japanese airline will operate a direct route between the two capital cities from next week as it had announced in November last year, although it will analyse passenger demand following the recent discord between Mexico and the US, a spokesperson from ANA told Efe news.

"We believe that the economic and diplomatic policy of the US does not severely affect the demand for flights to Mexico in the short term, but we will monitor the situation as it evolves," said the spokesperson.

There are around a thousand Japanese companies that operate out of Mexico, including automakers Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and Honda.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday cancelled a meeting with US President Donald Trump, scheduled for next week in Washington, after the latter threatened to make Mexico pay for a border wall he has ordered to be built.

Moreover, Trump seeks to impose a 20 per cent tax on imports from Mexico for funding the border wall, White House spokesperson Sean Spicer said.