Japanese regional carrier New Central Airservice (NCA) may have to suspend some operations after one of its aircraft suffered a mechanical issue and went into unscheduled maintenance.

The carrier, which is based at western Tokyo’s Chofu Airport and serves the remote Izu Islands in the Pacific Ocean south of Tokyo, says in a statement that one of its aircraft had a malfunction on 5 November and is now grounded for maintenance. “The maintenance is expected to take several days to complete, and as a result, some scheduled flights may be changed in time or cancelled,” says NCA.

The carrier does not say which aircraft is affected. Its website says its fleet comprises five Dornier 228-212s and three Cessna 172Ps.

NCA operates four scheduled routes from Chofu, to Oshima, Niijima, Kozushima and Miyakejima. The flights take between 25 and 50 minutes. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government subsidises all four routes, which are a lifeline for island residents whose only other link to the mainland is by sea. In the financial year to 31 March 2026, NCA operated 7,344 of 8,016 planned flights, a completion rate of 91.6%, with an average load factor of 71.4%, according to its annual safety report.

The 19-seat Dornier 228 is the backbone of the operation. The twin turboprop’s short take-off and landing performance suits the 800m runways at Chofu, Niijima and Kozushima. NCA was the global launch customer for the modernised Dornier 228 NG, which Swiss company RUAG delivered in September 2010. The NG version features a five-blade composite propeller, a glass cockpit and Honeywell TPE331-10 engines. General Atomics AeroTec Systems acquired the Do 228 programme in 2021 and now markets its successor, the Do 228 NXT.

NCA was founded in 1978, taking over the Izu Islands business of its predecessor Central Air, which dates from 1958. It is wholly owned by Japanese engineering group Kawada Industries. Besides scheduled flights, NCA runs flight training, sightseeing and aerial photography flights from Ryugasaki Airfield in Ibaraki Prefecture, which it also manages.

Smart Aviation APAC has contacted NCA for comment.

Picture shows: a NCA Dornier 228-212 at Chofu Airport.

Source: originally on Flickr, by Kentaro IEMOTO from Tokyo.