Narita airport undiminished

Oct 14, 2009
Narita airport undiminished


TOKYO - JAPAN'S transport minister said Wednesday his plan to upgrade Tokyo's portside Haneda airport into a 24-hour international hub will in no way diminish the role of the outlying Narita airport.

Seiji Maehara, the minister of land, infrastrucure, transport and tourism, also said the plan was aimed at replacing South Korea's Incheon airport as a hub for international flights using Japan's local airports.

Under a government policy, Haneda handles domestic flights, except for those to and from the East Asian cities of Shanghai, Seoul and Hong Kong, at present while Narita serves international and connecting domestic trips.

The prefecture of Chiba, which includes the city of Narita, has been angered by the Haneda plan after it was made public on Monday and Tuesday by Maehara.

The minister said he had told Chiba governor Kensaku Morita in a meeting Wednesday that both Haneda and Narita should be 'incorporated in handling domestic and international flights.'

'Even if Haneda and Narita are combined, it cannot meet demand in future,' Maehara told reporters. 'If we don't divide flights between Haneda and Narita, we won't be able to cope.' A fourth runway is due to be completed at Haneda in October next year. -- AFP