7 years in the making: Delta will return to former Tokyo Narita hub in 2027

Seven years later, Delta Air Lines is returning to Narita.Next spring, Delta will bring back nonstop service to the Tokyo airport from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).It'll give the carrier two nonstop Tokyo routes from SeaTac when the daily flights begin on March 27, 2027.But the route will have bigger symbolic meaning for the Atlanta-based carrier.The flight will mark Delta's return to Narita Airport (NRT) for the first time since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.Returning to NaritaRewind to the early 2010s and Narita was a linchpin in Delta's Pacific network. And its place in the company's heritage stretches back even further, thanks to the robust network previously operated there by Northwest Airlines — which Delta acquired in 2008.A Delta Air Lines Boeing 747 at Tokyo's Narita Airport (NRT) in 2017. LIGHTROCKET VIA GETTY IMAGESDelta had nonstop Narita service from the U.S. as well as a host of "fifth-freedom" flights from the airport to destinations in Asia and the South Pacific — including places like Manila to Singapore, Guam, Shanghai and Taipei.But over the course of the 2010s, Delta whittled down its Narita network in favor of Haneda Airport (HND), which...