Peach Aviation (MM, Osaka Kansai) will cancel a total of 448 flights in May and June, including 44 international services connecting Osaka Kansai with Seoul Incheon and Hong Kong International, due to a shortage of qualified pilots.

Japan's Mainichi newswire says CEO, Shinichi Inoue, apologized at a press conference in Tokyo, saying eight of the airline's 52 captains had been absent for long periods due to health reasons. As a result, the company could not promote co-pilots or recruit new crew as planned.

The ANA - All Nippon Airways (NH, Tokyo Haneda) LCC added that Japan's increasingly competitive environment has created a sudden rise in demand for flight crew, leading to a shortage in personnel.

"In addition, there has been an unexpected number of absentees for health reasons among Peach’s flight crew. Therefore, after careful reevaluation, it has been necessary to decrease the number of flights in order to maintain safety and customer satisfaction. Peach is making every effort to find alternative arrangements for our customers," the statement read.

Between May 19 and October 25, up to 2'088 flights "may be affected" by these amendments with over 448 flights scheduled for May and June having now been confirmed as cancelled.

Additional changes to the airline's timetable are expected in due course.

Using a fleet of twelve A320-200s, Peach currently serves fifteen destinations located in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.