Naha Airport

Naha Airport (那覇空港, Naha Kūkō) (IATA: OKA, ICAO: ROAH) is a second class airport located 4 km (2.5 mi) west of the city hall[3] in Naha, Okinawa. It is Japan's seventh busiest airport and the primary air terminal for passengers and cargo traveling to and from Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, and handles scheduled international traffic to Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and mainland China. The airport is also home to Naha Air Base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

For the airport in Naha, North Sulawesi, Indonesia (NAH/WAMH), see Naha Airport (Indonesia).
Naha Airport

那覇空港

Naha Kūkō
Summary
Airport typePublic & Military (as Naha Air Base)
OperatorMinistry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
ServesNaha, Okinawa, Japan
Hub for
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL11 ft / 3 m
Coordinates26°11′45″N 127°38′45″E
Websitenaha-airport.co.jp
Map
OKA/ROAH
Location in Japan
OKA/ROAH
OKA/ROAH (Japan)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18L/36R 3,000 9,843 Asphalt
18R/36L[1] 2,700 8,858 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers18,336,030
Cargo (metric tonnes)399,764
Aircraft movement156,245

Naha Airport served 17.5 million passengers in 2014, an increase of roughly 3 million passengers in two years.

Aerial view of Naha Airport

History

Oroku Aerodrome (小禄飛行場), an Imperial Japanese Navy airfield, opened in 1933. The base was taken over by the United States in 1945 and was renamed Naha Airport (那覇飛行場). Pan American World Airways and Northwest Orient began service to Naha in 1947.

The airport was closed for refurbishment between 1952 and 1954. Japan Airlines began service to Okinawa during this time and initially used Kadena Air Base.

Air America operated interisland flights to Miyako and Ishigaki from 1964 to 1967, when Southwest Airlines (now Japan Transocean Air) took over these routes.

Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972. In 1982, Naha Airport was transferred from US military control to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.

The airport was a popular connecting point between Taipei and Shanghai prior to the opening of nonstop cross-Strait flights between mainland China and Taiwan.

The basic and detailed design engineering works in addition to the later construction management phase of the main passenger terminal were awarded in the 1990s in part to the Japan Branch of the American design-build engineering company, The Austin Company, which joined Japanese firms in a joint venture design consortium.

Peach, a low-cost carrier based at Kansai International Airport in Osaka, announced that it would establish its second hub at Naha in July 2014, which would initially have flights to Osaka, Fukuoka, Ishigaki and Taipei.[4] ANA Holdings, the parent company of both Peach and Vanilla Air, opened a new LCC terminal in a refurbished portion of the airport's cargo area in October 2012, and plans to open new international facilities in October 2014.[5]

Development

The airport has been undergoing major development projects that will continue to transform the airport:

  • In 2008, the government agreed to significantly expand the domestic terminal, which will require the relocation of cargo facilities and the international terminal.
  • The construction of a second 2,700m parallel runway began on March 1, 2014 (opening March 26, 2020), on 160 hectares of reclaimed land.[1]
  • The new international terminal opened in February 2014. The international terminal is again being expanded and will grow by 3000m2 in November 2016. A new building connecting the domestic and international terminals is due to be completed in 2020 along with the 2nd runway.[6]
  • A LCCT terminal has been in operation since 2012.
  • In addition, a 6 lane under bay tunnel for auto transport linking the airport with the Naha Port boosting the utility of the intermodal facility was completed in 2011. This tunnel will also link a 2.6 hectare Free Trade Zone near the Airport with another 122 hectare FTZ located at Nakagusuku Bay.

Terminals
International terminal building
Interior of the terminal building
Departure lobby
  • Domestic Terminal (1999) - replaced former domestic terminal, extended to include LCCT, other extensions works to conclude in 2016.
  • Cargo Terminal (2009) - Former domestic terminal became the cargo terminal
  • LCCT Terminal (2012) - north annex of domestic terminal (Peach Domestic & International only).
  • New International Terminal (2014) - replaced old international terminal

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
AirAsia X Kuala Lumpur–International, Taipei–Taoyuan[7]
Air China Beijing–Capital, Chongqing,[8] Tianjin
All Nippon Airways Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Ishigaki, Iwakuni, Kumamoto, Matsuyama, Miyako, Nagasaki, Nagoya–Centrair, Osaka–Itami, Sendai, Shizuoka, Takamatsu, Tokyo–Haneda
Seasonal: Niigata, Sapporo–Chitose
All Nippon Airways
operated by ANA Wings 		Fukuoka
Asiana Airlines Seoul–Incheon
Beijing Capital Airlines Hangzhou,[9] Qingdao[10]
China Airlines Kaohsiung, Taipei–Taoyuan
China Eastern Airlines Hangzhou, Shanghai–Pudong, Xi'an
Donghai Airlines Nantong[11]
Eastar Jet Seoul–Incheon[12]
EVA Air Taipei–Taoyuan
HK Express Hong Kong
Hong Kong Airlines Hong Kong
Japan Airlines Osaka–Itami, Tokyo–Haneda
Japan Airlines
operated by Japan Air Commuter 		Okinoerabu
Japan Airlines
operated by Japan Transocean Air 		Fukuoka, Ishigaki, Komatsu, Kumejima, Miyako, Nagoya–Centrair, Okayama, Osaka–Kansai
Japan Transocean Air
operated by Ryukyu Air Commuter 		Amami Oshima, Ishigaki, Kitadaito, Kumejima, Minamidaito, Yonaguni, Yoron
Seasonal: Miyako
Jeju Air Seoul–Incheon
Jetstar Asia Airways Singapore
Jetstar Japan Nagoya–Centrair, Osaka–Kansai, Tokyo–Narita
Jin Air Busan, Seoul–Incheon
Juneyao Airlines Nanjing,[13] Shanghai–Pudong
Korean Air Seoul–Incheon
Mandarin Airlines Taichung
Peach Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Fukuoka, Hong Kong, Kaohsiung,[14] Osaka–Kansai, Sapporo–New Chitose,[15] Sendai,[15] Seoul–Incheon, Taipei–Taoyuan
Skymark Airlines Fukuoka, Ibaraki, Kobe, Nagoya–Centrair, Shimojishima,[16] Tokyo–Haneda
Solaseed Air Fukuoka,[17] Ishigaki, Kagoshima, Kobe, Miyazaki, Nagoya–Centrair
StarFlyer Kitakyushu
Tigerair Taiwan Kaohsiung,[18] Taipei–Taoyuan
T'way Airlines Daegu, Seoul–Incheon

Cargo service

All Nippon Airways operates an overnight cargo hub at Naha Airport, which receives inbound Boeing 767 freighter flights from key destinations in Japan, China and Southeast Asia between 1 and 4 a.m., followed by return flights between 4 and 6 a.m., allowing overnight service between these regional hubs as well as onward connections to other ANA and partner carrier flights.[19]

The hub began operations in 2009; by 2013 it served eight cities, and ANA had chartered a Nippon Cargo Airlines Boeing 747 freighter to handle demand on the trunk route from Narita International Airport.[20]

Accidents and incidents
  • On December 11, 1994, Ramzi Yousef planted a bomb on Philippine Airlines Flight 434, which exploded while the flight was en route from Cebu to Tokyo, killing one passenger and injuring ten other passengers. The plane made an emergency landing at Naha Airport safely.
  • On August 20, 2007, China Airlines Flight 120, a Boeing 737-800, was taxiing to the ramp after landing when suddenly a fire started beneath the right wing, quickly engulfing the entire plane. All passengers and crew members were evacuated safely. Investigations later revealed that part of the slat drive mechanism pierced the fuel tank, and the leaking fuel ignited when it came into contact with hot engine parts.
  • On June 3, 2015, an All Nippon Airways Boeing 737 bound for Sapporo aborted takeoff at Naha after a JASDF CH-47 Chinook helicopter crossed its departure path without clearance. An inbound Japan Transocean Air flight landed on the same runway, stopping 400 meters behind the ANA aircraft, despite an air traffic control order to go around, which the JTA pilot claimed to have received after landing.[21]

Access

The airport is served by the Okinawa Urban Monorail (Yui Rail) which carries passengers from Naha Airport Station to the center of Naha, and to the terminal at Tedako-Uranishi Station in Urasoe. Bus service is also available to many parts of Okinawa Island.

References
  1. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/03/24/national/politics-diplomacy/base-laden-okinawa-vies-become-tourism-magnet/#.XrOGB8B7mUk/ Archived 2019-03-25 at the Wayback Machine | title=Naha Airport to open second runway on March 26, 2020}}
  2. "Naha Airport" (PDF). Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  3. AIS Japan Archived 2016-05-17 at the Portuguese Web Archive
  4. Yoshikawa, Tadayuki (21 January 2014). "Archived copy" ピーチ、那覇－福岡線開設　7月に第2ハブ稼働. Aviation Wire. Archived from the original on 25 January 2014. Retrieved 22 January 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Archived copy" ANA、那覇の国際線LCCターミナル公開　10日からピーチ使用. Aviation Wire. 8 February 2014. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Naha Airport to expand its international terminal". Archived from the original on 2015-05-03. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
  7. "AirAsia X plans Okinawa launch in Jan 2020". routesonline. Archived from the original on 24 October 2019. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  8. Liu, Jim. "Air China adds Chongqing – Okinawa service from late-Dec 2019". Routesonline. Archived from the original on 5 December 2019. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  9. "Beijing Capital Airlines to Start Hangzhou - Okinawa Service from late-Oct 2014". Airline Route. 22 October 2014. Archived from the original on 27 June 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  10. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2020-01-28. Retrieved 2020-01-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. Liu, Jim. "Donghai Airlines plans Japan service debut in Jan 2020". Routesonline. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
  12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2019-11-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  13. "Juneyao Airlines Adds Nanjing – Okinawa Service from July 2016". airlineroute. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  14. "Peach plans Okinawa – Kaohsiung launch in late-April 2018". routesonline. Archived from the original on 25 January 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  15. Liu, Jim. "Peach expands Okinawa service in W20". Routesonline. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
  16. Liu, Jim. "Skymark Airlines adds Shimojishima service from late-Oct 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  17. Liu, Jim. "Solaseed Air adds Okinawa – Fukuoka service from late-March 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  18. "tigerair Taiwan adds Kaohsiung – Okinawa route in Mar 2017". routesonline. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  19. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-21. Retrieved 2013-07-17.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. 全日空「沖縄貨物ハブ」上昇気流　国内外で路線拡充. The Nikkei (in Japanese). 24 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  21. "ANA jet aborts take-off after SDF copter cuts across its path at Naha airport". Japan Today. 4 June 2015. Archived from the original on 28 July 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
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