Narita Airport to extend operations by one hour from late October

February 4, 2019

Tokyo--An agreement to extend the operating hours of Narita International Airport, near Tokyo, by one hour beginning in late October was reached on Monday.

This will be the first operating hour extension at the airport in the city of Narita, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, since it went into service in 1978.

The agreement was made at a meeting held in the town of Shibayama, Chiba, among the transport ministry, the Chiba prefectural government, nine local municipalities including Narita and Shibayama, and Narita International Airport Corp.

The operating hours for Runway A will be extended until midnight. It is currently used between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m.

The extension is one of measures to enhance the airport's functions to prepare for expected further growth in the number of foreign visitors to the nation. Other steps include extending Runway B and building a third runway.

The parties concerned had already agreed to realize the operating hour extension for Runway A before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

While the ministry and the airport operator called for the extended operating hours to start in late October this year, the city of Sanmu and the town of Yokoshibahikari voiced opposition out of concern over an increase in noise pollution.

But the two municipalities changed their stances after the airport operator promised to take additional measures to ease the noise problem and revitalize the local economies. Jiji Press