Narita International Airport
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| Narita International Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Summary | |||
| Type of airport | commercial | ||
| Opened | 1978 | ||
| City | Narita, Japan | ||
| Operator | Narita International Airport Corporation (http://www.narita-airport.or.jp/naa_e/) | ||
| Coordinates | Template:Coor dms | ||
| 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) Template:Airport codes is an international airport in the eastern portion of Narita, Chiba, Japan. It handles most international traffic into Tokyo and the Greater Tokyo Area, and serves as a hub to Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Northwest Airlines, and United Airlines. It is classified as a first class airport.
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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.
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, fugitive 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 near Manila, the Philippines. It has been reported that Fischer traveled frequently between Tokyo and Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
Disasters
On June 22, 1985, a piece of luggage that was checked into Vancouver International Airport in Vancouver, British Columbia was in transit to an Air India flight in New Tokyo International Airport when it exploded, killing two baggage handlers in New Tokyo International Airport. 55 minutes later, a piece of luggage that also originated from Vancouver on Air India Flight 182 exploded, killing all of the passengers on the flight.
On December 11, 1994, Philippine Airlines Flight 434 was flying on its second leg of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport - Mactan-Cebu International Airport - New Tokyo International Airport 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 January 6 and the morning of January 7, 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 January 21, 1995 as part of the project's first phase.
Airlines
Terminal 1
- Aircalin (Noumea)
- Air France (Paris Charles de Gaulle)
- Air Tahiti Nui (Papeete, nonstop and via Osaka Kansai)
- Alitalia (Rome)
- American Airlines (Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, New York JFK, Los Angeles, San Jose CA)
- British Airways (London Heathrow)
- Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong)
- Finnair (Helsinki)
- KLM (Amsterdam)
- Korean Air (Busan, Jeju, Seoul Incheon, Los Angeles)
- Northwest Airlines (Bangkok, Busan, Beijing, Detroit, Guam, Guangzhou, Hågatña, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Manila, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nagoya, New York JFK, Portland OR, Saipan, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Seoul Incheon, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei)
- Singapore Airlines (Los Angeles, Singapore)
- United Airlines (Bangkok, Chicago O'Hare, Hong Kong, Honolulu, New York JFK, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei)
- Varig (Sao Paulo via Los Angeles)
- Virgin Atlantic (London Heathrow)
Terminal 2
- Aeroflot (Moscow SVO)
- Air Canada (Toronto, Vancouver)
- Air China (Beijing, Shanghai)
- Air India (Delhi, Mumbai via Bangkok)
- Air Japan (Honolulu)
- Air New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch)
- Air Niugini (Port Moresby)
- Air Pacific (Nadi)
- All Nippon Airways (Beijing, Dalian, Fukuoka, Hangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Nagoya, New York JFK, Osaka Itami, Paris de Gaulle, Qingdao, San Francisco, Shanghai, Seoul Incheon, Vancouver, Washington Dulles)
- Asiana Airlines (Seoul Incheon)
- Austrian Airlines (Vienna)
- Biman Bangladesh (Dhaka via Bangkok)
- China Airlines (Honolulu, Taipei)
- China Eastern Airlines (Shanghai, Xian)
- China Southern Airlines (Dalian, Guangzhou)
- Continental Airlines (Houston Bush, Newark)
- Continental Micronesia (Guam)
- Delta Air Lines (Atlanta)
- Egyptair (Cairo)
- Emirates (Dubai)
- EVA Air (Taipei)
- Fairinc (Hiroshima, Sapporo Chitose, Sendai)
- Garuda Indonesia (Denpasar)
- Iran Air (Beijing, Tehran)
- JALways (Guam, Kona, Saipan)
- Japan Air Lines (Amsterdam, Bangkok, Beijing, Brisbane, Busan, Chicago O'Hare, Delhi, Denpasar, Frankfurt, Fukuoka, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Jakarta, Kona, Kuala Lumpur, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Manila, Mexico City, Milan, Moscow, Nagoya, New York JFK, Osaka Itami, Osaka Kansai, Paris, Qingdao, Rome, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Sapporo Chitose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Vancouver)
- Japan Asia Airways (Taipei)
- J-AIR (Nagoya)
- Lufthansa (Frankfurt, Munich)
- Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur)
- MIAT Mongolian Airlines (Ulanbataar)
- Nakanihon Airlines (Nagoya, Sendai)
- Pakistan International Airlines (Karachi via Islamabad and Beijing)
- Philippine Airlines (Manila, Cebu)
- Qantas (Cairns, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney)
- Scandinavian Airlines System (Copenhagen)
- Sri Lankan Airlines (Colombo, Male)
- Swiss International Airlines (Zurich)
- Thai Airways International (Bangkok, Chiang Mai)
- Turkish Airlines (Istanbul)
- Uzbekistan Airways (Tashkent via Osaka Kansai)
- Vietnam Airlines (Ho Chi Minh City)
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 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.
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 travelers because of the great distance from the airport to the city. Fares to central Tokyo range from 14,000 to 20,000 yen.
External link
- Narita International Airport Homepage (http://www.narita-airport.or.jp/airport_e/index.html)de:Narita International Airport
es:Aeropuerto Internacional de Narita fr:Aéroport international de Narita ja:成田国際空港 zh:成田国际机场