Asahikawa Airport

Asahikawa Airport (旭川空港, Asahikawa Kūkō) (IATA: AKJ, ICAO: RJEC), is a single-runway regional airport in Hokkaidō, Japan, straddling the cities of Asahikawa and Higashikagura.

Asahikawa Airport

旭川空港

Asahikawa Kūkō
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerJapanese government
OperatorCity of Asahikawa
ServesAsahikawa, Hokkaidō, Japan
LocationHigashikagura, Hokkaido
Elevation AMSL690 ft / 210 m
Coordinates43°40′15″N 142°26′51″E
Map
RJEC
Location in Hokkaidō
RJEC
Location in Japan
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
16/34 2,500 8,202 Asphalt concrete
Statistics (2015)
Passengers1,148,825
Cargo (metric tonnes)5,346
Aircraft movement8,045

History

Planning of the airport began in the late 1950s. The site was chosen in November 1960 and received government approval in 1963. Japan Domestic Airlines began the first scheduled flight to Asahikawa on July 1, 1966, a NAMC YS-11 service to Haneda Airport via Okadama Airport. Scheduled service was seasonal (May through October) until 1970, when year-round flights to Tokyo began.[2]

The airport was closed for expansion work from May 1981 until February 1982, during which time the main runway was extended and widened, from 1,200 x 30 m to 1,640 m x 45 m. A further extension to 2,000 m was completed in November 1982. Following these expansions, jet service began at the airport, beginning with DC-9 and MD-80 aircraft followed by widebody Airbus A300s beginning in December 1983.

ANA operated the first international charter flight from Asahikawa in 1987. Another runway extension, to 2,500 m, was completed in 1997, and the parallel taxiway opened in 1998.[2]

Scheduled international service to Seoul began in 2006, using new international facilities in the airport terminal.[2] In 2016, plans were finalized to build a new 5,700 m² international terminal to the south of the existing terminal, with a target of 500,000 international passengers per year by 2030.[3] Construction began in October 2017 and opening is scheduled for December 2018. The existing terminal will also be expanded and renovated by September 2019.[4]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Air Do Tokyo–Haneda
All Nippon Airways Nagoya–Centrair
Seasonal: Osaka–Kansai
China Eastern Airlines Seasonal: Beijing–Capital, Shanghai–Pudong
EVA Air Seasonal: Taipei–Taoyuan
Japan Airlines Tokyo–Haneda
Seasonal: Osaka–Itami
Spring Airlines Seasonal: Beijing–Capital, Shanghai–Pudong
Tigerair Taiwan Taipei–Taoyuan

Access

Asahikawa Airport is accessible by bus from Asahikawa Station, Asahiyama Zoo, and Furano Station. From Asahikawa Station it is about 15 km (35 minutes by bus) while from Furano Station it is about 40 km (1 hour by bus).

References
  1. "Asahikawa Airport" (PDF). Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  2. "空港の沿革" (PDF). City of Asahikawa. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  3. "旭川空港ビル増築、国際線施設を拡充　46億円投資". The Nikkei. 2 February 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  4. 国際線ビル本格着工 旭川空港、訪日客拡大へ. www.nikkei.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-10-06.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.