Photo/Illutration Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

The transport ministry is moving to authorize a sharp increase in the number of takeoffs and landings at Narita Airport, marking the first major shakeup in 15 years.

The move is intended to bolster the status of the facility in Chiba Prefecture close to Tokyo as competition for passengers continues to heat up at the world’s major international airports.

The annual cap on takeoffs and landings is now set at 300,000, but the ministry is considering raising the ceiling to 340,000, sources said.

A formal proposal is expected to be made in late January at a meeting comprising local governments that would be affected by the change. If the move is OK’d, ministry officials want to implement the change from October.

Annual number of takeoffs and landings were last increased in 2010 when the ceiling was lifted from 220,000 to 300,000.

There were around 264,000 takeoffs and landings in 2019, but the figure fell off with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to airport operator Narita International Airport Corp. (NAA).

The figure is expected to recover to about 251,000 in the current fiscal year and could exceed 300,000 in 2026 due to strong demand among travelers.

Under current airport conditions, the maximum number of takeoffs and landings possible is believed to be 340,000, so that will be set as the new ceiling.

No change will be made on the current limit of usage of two runways late at night, a move intended to keep noise levels down so residents in neighboring communities can get a proper sleep.

Sources said ministry officials were working to mainly increase the number of takeoffs and landings in the morning and afternoon under the new ceiling.

Under that new ceiling, there would be a daily average of about 900 takeoffs and landings, in contrast to the 724 average of 2019.

At one time after it began operations in 1978 Narita was one of the top passenger and cargo airports in Asia, but its status has since fallen with the emergence of hubs in South Korea and Taiwan.

In 2019, Narita had about 36.7 million international passengers, placing it 18th among international airports in the world. That was a major step back from its eighth place standing in 2000.

The government has designated Narita and Haneda airports as metropolitan area airports and is seeking to expand the combined annual number of takeoffs and landings to 1 million.

But Haneda has already exceeded its annual ceiling of about 490,000, so increasing the limit at Narita is of pressing concern.

(This article was written by Yuji Masuyama and Takeshi Owada.)

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