In 1953, Nakanihon Air Service Co.,Ltd. (中日本航空株式会社 Nakanihon Kōkū Kabushiki Gaisha) (NAS) was founded near Nagoya Airport (currently Nagoya Airfield). Its major shareholders included Nagoya Railroad and ANA. Its core business has been general aviation, including scenic and charter flights, aerial photography and helicopter services. Its commuter operations were spun off as Nakanihon Airlines (NAL) in 1998 (renamed Air Central in 2005.)
