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New Kitakyushu Airport
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| New Kitakyushu Airport 新北九州空港 Shin Kitakyūshū Kūkō |
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|---|---|---|---|
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| IATA: KKJ - ICAO: RJFR | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Ministry of Transport (airfield) Kitakyushu Air Terminal Co. (terminal) | ||
| Serves | Kitakyushu | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 21 ft (6 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 18/36 | 8,202 | 2,500 | Asphalt |
New Kitakyūshū Airport (新北九州空港 Shin Kitakyūshū Kūkō?) (IATA: KKJ, ICAO: RJFR), has been built three kilometres offshore in the Suo Nada area of the Seto Inland Sea on an artificial island (4th in Japan) in the south of Kitakyushu, Japan. It opened on March 16, 2006. It is designated a second class airport, and it has some international charter flights.
It is the fourth airport in Japan to operate round the clock, 24 hours a day, after New Chitose International Airport (Sapporo), Kansai International Airport (Osaka) and Chubu International Airport (Nagoya). Connections between the city of Kitakyushu and Tokyo have been greatly strengthened thanks to this airport, including business trips and sightseeing in both directions.
On August 2, 2006, the one millionth user of the airport was presented with souvenirs. On January 5, 2007, 2 million passengers had used this airport.
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The new airport is eagerly anticipated for the benefits it will bring in terms of increased prosperity, tourism and trade to the Kanmon area (Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki), Kanda and Yukuhashi. It is designated one of 24 second class airports by the Japanese government. Free bus tours were organised by Kitakyushu city to show the citizens the project under construction. Unlike Kobe Airport which opened exactly one month before, there is no controversy as to the need for this airport. Automakers such as Toyota have decided to build factories here as access is easy to direct cargo flights.
The opening date was March 16, 2006. A committee to promote the construction of the new airport was founded in 1978, with the governor of Fukuoka prefecture as chairman. Construction began in October 1994.
The first aircraft to land at the airport was a StarFlyer Airbus, on February 8, 2006. The first international flight from Shanghai landed on March 26, 2006. (Shanghai and Tokyo are roughly equidistant from Kitakyushu.)
A once-only marathon was held on February 5, 2006 with half-marathon, 10 kilometre and five kilometre courses to celebrate the opening of the new airport. [1]
On June 4, 2006, a rugby game was played at Honjo stadium between Japan and Tonga as part of the inaugural IRB Pacific 5 Nations series. This game commemorated the opening of the airport.
Contests were held to decide on the airport's new logo and catchphrase. The winning logo uses the "kita" (北) character in "Kitakyushu", stretched out like wings. The winning catchphrase, "A new sky, a new me," refers to the concept of flying from a new airport and rediscovering oneself. [2]
The runway is 2500 metres long by 60 metres wide (with a separate taxiway of 2500 by 30 metres), enough to accommodate Jumbo Jets and other large jet aircraft, but as the island is 4125 metres long and 900 metres wide (3.73 km²) it will be possible to extend it in future, and the bay is shallow (about 7 metres only) so a new runway could also be built relatively cheaply. The island has been built inexpensively from sludge dredged from the Kanmon Straits which silts up at the rate of 15 centimetres per annum. There have been some suggestions that the airport might be named the Kanmon airport also.
Part of the artificial island on which the airport is built is in Kanda.
The former Kitakyushu Airport had restrictions on aircraft operation due to its small size and location, close to mountains and residential areas, causing inconvenience. Similar problems are apparent at the nearby Fukuoka Airport, which is only open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
The New Kitakyushu Airport is free from such problems and causes minimal noise nuisance because of its location, making possible the operation of large aircraft even through 24 hours (subject to approval of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport). Operation in the very early morning and around midnight is being realised, as well as international flights.
It also serves as a relief valve for nearby Fukuoka airport, which has similar noise limitations to the old Kitakyushu airport. Large planes with cargo can be flown into the area, enhancing nearby industrial zones. Toyota has a new factory just across the bay from the airport.
The following airlines are currently using the airport (subject to change):
- Japan Airlines (Tokyo-Haneda)
- Japan Transocean Air (Okinawa)
- StarFlyer, All Nippon Airways(code-share) (Tokyo-Haneda)
- China Southern Airlines (Guangzhou-Baiyun via Shanghai-Pudong)
- Vladivostok Air (Vladivostok [seasonal])[1]
Access is secured by a toll-free airport bridge of 2.1 km length connected to the Eastern Kyushu Expressway via Kanda-Kitakyushukuko IC. A direct rail link from Kokura station which is 15 kilometres away will probably be established eventually, dependent on sufficient demand, and parking lots on the man-made airport island will be expanded, providing flexibility for passengers.
On November 30, 2005, five bus routes to the airport from various points in Kitakyushu were announced.
Car parking near the terminal is relatively cheap at 390 yen for 24 hours.
- ^ (Russian) Federal State Unitary Enterprise "State Air Traffic Management Corporation", Summer Air Traffic Schedule 25.03.2007 - 27.10.2007 (Airports - Russian international), 29 May 2007, p. 49
- Shin Kitakyushu Kuko - official website in Japanese
- Kitakyushu air terminal - official website
- List of destinations from Kitakyushu
- Photographs of the airport, terminal, control tower and access routes under construction - from the official Japanese website
- Official brochure in English about the airport
- StarFlyer - home page in English with a faq
- Airport information for RJFR at World Aero Data