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The long-awaited Kansai International Airport was finally opened on September
4, 1994, a quarter century after the project was conceived and more than seven
years after the construction work started. It is the first time since New Tokyo
International Airport was opened sixteen years ago in 1978 that a new international
airport has been built in Japan. On August 29, a grand opening ceremony was
held with His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince and Princess in attendance.
Kansai International Airport was built by reclaiming land from the sea about
5 km off Senshu in the southeast of Osaka Bay to deal with an increasing demand
for aviation in the Kinki districts and to help solve the environmental problems
caused by Osaka International Airport. This airport is the first Japanese international
airport that is operable around the clock. The airport is characterized by the
following features:
(1) It is possible to set up diversified timetables according to the needs of
passengers, because the airport is operable around the clock. In addition, the
volume of freight traffic, which is mostly done at night, is expected to increase,
which will lead to more efficient physical distribution. Thus, the airport will
bring various favorable results.
(2) The airport provides easy access for major cities in the Kansai district,
because diversified methods of access have been in place since the airport opened.
(3) Not only international flights but also many domestic flights land and take
off at the airport. Therefore, passengers can more easily go abroad via Kansai
International Airport from various places in Japan. Furthermore, in making connections,
passengers have only to go up and down in the same terminal building.
Because of this, there are high expectations that Kansai International Airport
will become a new convenient gateway to Japan.
According to the flight schedule as of November 1994, Kansai International
Airport is connected to forty-nine cities in twenty-one countries and one region
(368 flights/week). More countries are expected to extend their airlines to
this airport and the international airline network will be further expanded
in future. In addition, as of November 1994, the airport is connected to twenty-five
domestic airports (65 flights/day). Thus, the airport is extending a large network
throughout Japan and abroad.
Thanks to the opening of Kansai International Airport, people, goods and
information are coming directly and in "real time" from all over Japan and from
many countries of the world. This will help the Kansai district to regain economic
and cultural strength. At the same time, the airport is expected to bring vital
results to Japan as a whole, which is further moving to an internationalized
and information-oriented society.
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