Centrair, the only one-runway major airport in Japan, will have two more runways in coming years.

 December 13,2021

Major media such as Nikkei, Chunichi and others reported expansion plans of the Chubu International Airport, Centrair, off the coast of Chita Peninsula in Aichi. Currently, Centrair has only one runway built on a man-made island.

 

 

Chubu International Airport , Yomiuri Shimbun

 

 

At a press conference on April 13, Aichi Governor Hideaki Omura announced his plan to build a new runway of 3290 meters on the east side of the current runway at Central Japan International Airport (Tokoname City) in 2026. The plan was to build a new runway by reclaiming the west side of the current airport, but since it takes time to reclaim the land, the governor wants to bring forward the plan to build two runways.

 

Once the new runway on the east side is operational, the number of arrivals and departures will increase by 20% from the current maximum of 130,000 to 156,000 per year. If the new runway on the west side is built, the number of arrivals and departures is expected to increase by 50% to 195,000.

 

Several sources have revealed that the runway at the airport, which opened in 2005, is aging and will eventually need a major renovation. Until now, the plan was to add one more runway by reclaiming the west side of the airport island.

 

The new plan is to build a new runway 3,300 meters north to south on the east side of the current runway. The total construction cost is expected to be around 15 billion yen. Upon completion of the new runway, the current runway will be shut down and undergo a major renovation. After that, the new runway will be used exclusively for takeoffs and the current runway exclusively for landings, increasing the arrival and departure capacity up to 1.2 times the current capacity. 

 

A third runway will be built on the west side of the airport after land reclamation is completed in 2037, in line with the original plan, to meet future increases in demand. The current runway will be abolished after it is put into service, and the airport will switch to the operation of two new runways on the east and west sides. The overall arrival and departure capacity of the airport is expected to eventually increase to 1.6 times the current level. Land reclamation work will begin by the end of the fiscal year.

 

Japan's major airports have four runways at Haneda, and two each at Narita, Kansai International, Itami, New Chitose, and Naha. With an eye on increasing demand for tourism to Japan, Narita is planning to build a third runway in 2029, and Fukuoka a second runway in 2025. Despite being located in the metropolitan area that includes Nagoya, Chubu has been lagging behind in terms of the number of flights.

 

Although demand for air travel has been sluggish due to the pandemic, it is expected to recover rapidly after the crisis is resolved. According to an announcement made in May this year by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the world's air passenger demand is expected to return to the 2019 level in 2023.