Photo/Illutration Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

OSAKA--Two airport hubs in the Kansai region are expected to sharply increase the number of takeoff-and-landing slots, possibly in time for the opening of the Kansai Osaka Expo in April.

A local commission has agreed on the introduction of new flight routes required for expanding slots at Kansai International Airport and Kobe Airport on condition that due consideration is given to local communities, sources said.

The commission, which was established in 2003 to discuss issues related to the Kansai, Osaka and Kobe airports, was scheduled to formally announce the agreement on July 15, the sources said.

The maximum number of hourly slots at Kansai International Airport will expand from 45 to 60, and the maximum number of daily slots at Kobe Airport will increase from 80 to 120 under the agreement.

The commission, consisting of representatives of local governments, economic organizations and other entities, decided to increase flight slots at the Kansai and Kobe airports in 2022.

The goal was set at an annual total of 500,000 slots around 2030 for the Kansai, Osaka and Kobe airports against the backdrop of a sharp increase in foreign visitor numbers.

Osaka International Airport at Itami currently has a maximum 370 daily slots.

The commission also agreed to open Kobe Airport for international charter flights during the six-month Osaka Kansai Expo and also add a maximum 40 daily slots for international flights at the airport.

In response to the commission’s request for a review of flight routes, the transport ministry in June 2023 presented new routes where aircraft would fly at low altitudes over Awajishima island in Hyogo Prefecture and other locations.

Local governments called for limiting flights along new routes between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m. and made other requests.

The commission reached the latest agreement after the transport ministry indicated it would comply with the requests, the sources said.

Six prefectures in the region and Kansai Airports, a company that operates the three airports, will establish a system for monitoring the environmental impact of the new routes, such as by adding noise measurement points.

In 2019, the three airports in the Kansai region handled about 380,000 departures and arrivals combined, including about 210,000 at Kansai International Airport.

As of May, the total number had recovered to 95 percent of the pre-pandemic level of May 2019.

In 2019, Haneda Airport in Tokyo handled about 460,000 departures and arrivals, the largest in the country, followed by about 260,000 at Narita International Airport east of the capital.

(This article was written by Koji Nishimura and Kazuhito Suwa.)

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