Partial Closure of Runway at Japan Narita Airport Hit Hard by COVID-19

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] One of the two runways at Narita Airport, the gateway to the Tokyo metropolitan area, will be closed. This is the first time since the airport opened in May 1978 that a runway at Narita Airport will be closed.

According to NHK on the 10th, Narita Airport Corporation decided to close one of the two runways, A or B, due to a decrease in flights caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

As the spread of COVID-19 led the Japanese and other governments to control entry and exit, the number of international passenger flights using Narita Airport dropped sharply by 16% compared to the same period last year over the week ending on the 4th.

Last year, the number of passengers using this airport reached 44.35 million, and the number of flight takeoffs and landings exceeded 264,000.

The company plans to close the runway once it receives approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the competent authority.

Meanwhile, Haneda Airport, another airport in Tokyo, decided to suspend the operation of the newly opened international terminal 2 from the 11th for the time being. The terminal had opened on the 29th of last month.

This facility, which was expanded at a cost of 62 billion yen (approximately 690 billion KRW) ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, was hit hard by COVID-19 immediately after opening. Haneda Airport Terminal 2 operated only 11 flights, including 8 on the first day of opening, until the 10th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.