Kitakyushu Airport (北九州空港), sometimes called Kokuraminami Airport, is an airport in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. It is built on an artificial island in the western Seto Inland Sea, 3 km away from the city's downtown. It opened on 16 March 2006, as New Kitakyushu Airport (新北九州空港) but was renamed in 2008. It has some international charter flights. It is the fourth airport in Japan to begin operating 24 hours a day, after New Chitose Airport (Sapporo), Kansai International Airport (Osaka), and Chubu Centrair International Airport (Nagoya).

History

The former Kitakyushu Airport had restrictions on aircraft operation due to its small size and location, close to mountains and residential areas. Heavy fog often resulted in flight cancellations. There were similar problems at the nearby Fukuoka Airport, which cannot engage in nighttime operations due to proximity to residential areas. A new airport was intended to be free from such problems due to its offshore location, making possible 24-hour operation. Large cargo planes can use the airport, making possible convenient freight movement to and from nearby industrial zones. Toyota has a factory just across the bay from the airport.

Construction

A committee to promote the construction of the new airport was founded in 1978, with the governor of Fukuoka as chairman. Construction began in October 1994. The new airport was anticipated by residents in and around the cities of Kitakyushu and Shimonoseki. The Kitakyushu municipal government organized bus tours to the construction site for interested citizens in an attempt to defuse controversy over the construction. The airport officially opened on March 16, 2006.

Flights

The first aircraft to land at the airport was a StarFlyer Airbus on March 26, 2006. The first international flight from Shanghai landed on March 30, 2006. A Korean low-cost carrier, Jeju Air, flew eight charter flights from Kitakyushu to Incheon International Airport in summer 2008. Scheduled service on the route started in March 2009.

Dimensions

The runway is 2500 by (with a separate taxiway of 2500 by), enough to accommodate Boeing 747s and other large jet aircraft. The manmade island on which the airport is built is 4125 m long and 900 m wide (3.73 km2). Due to the island's size and the relative shallowness of the surrounding water, which is about 7 m in depth, the expansion is being conducted, starting with a 500 m runway extension to 3000 by). Construction to extend the runway to 3000 m began in December 2023. Completion is scheduled for August 2027.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Other facilities

The airline StarFlyer has its head office on the airport property.

Statistics

Access

Road

A 2.1 km toll-free bridge connects the island to the Higashikyūshū Expressway via the Kanda-Kitakyushukūkō interchange.

Bus