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Narita International Airport

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Narita International Airport
Summary
Type of airport commercial
Opened 1978
City Narita, Japan
Operator Narita International Airport Corporation
Coordinates 35°45′50″N 140°23′30″E / 35.76389°N 140.39167°E / 35.76389; 140.39167
IATA NRT ICAO RJAA
Runways
Direction Length Surface
(ft) (m)
16R/34L 13,123 4,000 Paved
16L/34R 7,152 2,180 Paved
Statistics
2003
Number of passengers 26,537,406
- 26th in the world
- 2nd in Japan
Comments on this test infobox

Narita International Airport (Japanese: 成田国際空港 Narita Kokusai Kūkō) (IATA: NRT, ICAO: RJAA) is an international airport in the eastern portion of Narita, Chiba, Japan.

Known as New Tokyo International Airport until 2004, Narita is the largest international airport in Japan and a major connecting point for air traffic between Asia and the Americas. It serves as a hub to Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Northwest Airlines, and United Airlines. Under Japanese law, it is classified as a first class airport.

History

Construction

In 1962, the Japanese government began investigating possible alternatives to the crowded Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport), and proposed a New Tokyo International Airport (新東京国際空港 Shin-Tōkyō Kokusai Kūkō) to take over Haneda's international flights. Initially, surveyors proposed placing the airport in the village of Tomisato. However, Tomisato residents refused to give up their land, so the site was moved 5 km northeast to the village of Sanrizuka, where the Imperial Household had a large farm. The government therefore had less difficulty placing the planned airport.

Due to land scarcity and weak expropriation laws, the initial and ongoing development of Narita Airport has been the cause of great controversy. Many people against the Vietnam War saw the construction of a new airport as participation in the war effort. The Japanese government had offered to relocate homeowners in the surrounding regions. However, neighbours threatened to burn down new homes of anyone who would voluntarily move. In 1971, when expropriations began, 291 area farmers were arrested and more than 1,000 villagers and police were injured in fights. Later that year, some villagers chained themselves to their homes and refused to leave.

The airport was scheduled to open in March of 1978. Shortly before its scheduled opening, a group of villagers broke into the control tower and destroyed much of its equipment, delaying the opening by another two months.

In 1986, the airport authority began work on Phase II, a new runway north of the airport's original main runway. To avoid the problems that plagued the first phase, the authorities agreed not to confiscate additional land. Residents in surrounding regions were compensated for the increased noise-pollution with home upgrades and soundproofing, although some farmers who refused to give up their land were forced to keep henhouses close to the threshold of the new runway. The runway opened in April of 2002, in time for the World Cup events shared between Japan and South Korea.

Today, individuals continue to stage demonstrations regularly on the eastern edge of the airport.

Japanese construction giant Takenaka Corporation completed work on the two passenger buildings in 1972 and 1992.[1]

Subsequent history

Narita also had other problems. Arguments over slots and landing fees have plagued the busy airport. Because so many airlines want to use it, the Japanese aviation authorities have limited the number of flights each airline can operate from this airport, making the airport expensive for both airlines and their passengers.

Recently, Tokyo International Airport was allowed to have other international flights within Asia, as well as to Hawaii, in an attempt to alleviate Narita's capacity problems. There has been some discussion about exchanging roles between Narita airport and Haneda to accommodate Tokyo residents as Narita is in Chiba prefecture and a typical train ride from even the eastern parts of Tokyo on an express train takes roughly 1 hour.

In May 2001, Kim Jong-nam, the son of North Korean President Kim Jong-il, was arrested at New Tokyo International Airport for travelling with a forged passport, and was deported to the People's Republic of China.

On April 1, 2004, New Tokyo International Airport was officially renamed Narita International Airport, reflecting its popular designation since the 1970s.

On July 13, 2004, Bobby Fischer was detained at Narita Airport for allegedly using an invalid U.S. passport while trying to board a Japan Airlines flight to Ninoy Aquino International Airport outside Manila; he left Japan a year later after obtaining asylum in Iceland.

Disasters

On 22 June 1985, a piece of luggage exploded while being transferred to an Air India flight, killing two baggage handlers. The luggage had originated at the Vancouver International Airport. Fifty-five minutes later, another piece of luggage, also originating from Vancouver, exploded on Air India Flight 182, killing all onboard.

On 11 December 1994, Philippine Airlines Flight 434 was flying its second leg of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport - Mactan-Cebu International Airport - Tokyo route when a bomb on board exploded, killing a passenger. The airliner was able to make an emergency landing.

Authorities later found out that Ramzi Yousef planted the bomb on the airliner to test the bomb for his Project Bojinka plot. His project was discovered in Manila, Philippines after an apartment fire on the night of 6 January and the morning of 7 January 1995. If the plot had not been discovered, one or more aircraft owned by a U.S. carrier/s flying to this airport would have blown up over the Pacific Ocean on 21 January, 1995 as part of the project's first phase.

Airlines

Terminal 1

  • Aircalin (Noumea)
  • Air France (Paris/CDG)
  • Air Tahiti Nui (Papeete and Osaka/Kansai)
  • Alitalia (Milan/Malpensa, Rome/Fiumicino)
  • American Airlines (Chicago/O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York/JFK, Los Angeles, San Jose (CA))
  • British Airways (London/Heathrow)
  • Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong, Taipei)
  • Finnair (Helsinki)
  • KLM (Amsterdam)
  • Korean Air (Busan, Jeju, Seoul/Incheon, Los Angeles)
  • Northwest Airlines (Bangkok, Busan, Beijing, Cebu (planned), Detroit, Guam, Guangzhou, Hågatña Guam, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Manila, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nagoya, Portland (OR), Saipan, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Seoul/Incheon, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei)
  • Singapore Airlines (Bangkok, Los Angeles, Singapore)
  • United Airlines (Bangkok, Chicago/O'Hare, Denver, Hong Kong, Honolulu, New York/JFK, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Seoul Incheon, Singapore, Taipei)
  • Varig (Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo (via Los Angeles)) (ends Jan. 17, 2006)
  • Virgin Atlantic (London/Heathrow)
Narita Terminal 2

Terminal 2

Ground transportation

Rail

The Keisei Electric Railway and JR Narita Line connect Narita Airport to Tokyo and other cities in the region.

JR offers the high-speed Narita Express service, which takes 53 minutes from the airport to Tokyo Station, 80 minutes to Shinjuku Station, and 90 minutes to Omiya Station and Yokohama Station. NEX is the fastest, but most expensive, connection to the airport, costing 3,000 to 4,500 yen (for ordinary cars). JR also offers rapid service (kaisoku) trains to Tokyo Station, which take 90 minutes but cost less than the Narita Express.

Keisei's Skyliner limited express travels to Nippori Station in 51 minutes and Ueno Station in 56 minutes, costing 1,920 yen. Recently, Keisei has joined the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation and Keihin Kyuko Railway in offering direct rail service from Narita Airport to Haneda Airport, which takes about 105 minutes.

The Narita Rapid Railway, currently under construction and scheduled for completion in 2010, is designed to cut travel time between Nippori and the airport to 36 minutes.

Bus

There are regular bus services to regional transport hubs, although these are often slower than the trains because of traffic jams. Many bus companies operate to and from the airport, charging fares from 3,000 yen for central Tokyo to 4,000 yen for outer suburbs. There is also overnight bus service to Kyoto and Osaka, which takes about 12 hours and costs 9,000 to 10,000 yen.

Taxi

Taxi service is available, although it is usually prohibitively expensive for single travellers because of the great distance from the airport to the city. Fares to central Tokyo range from 14,000 to 20,000 yen (plus around 1,450 yen for expressway tolls, also late night/early morning surcharges).

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