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Narita Airport operating hours to be extended until midnight in some situations

12 Comments

Narita Airport is to be allowed an extension on the landing and take-off times of its evening flights, beginning Sunday. Narita city has granted the Narita Airport operator an extension to fly until midnight under certain circumstances, breaking its long-standing 11 p.m. closing time.

According to Narita city officials, the international airport will be granted an hour's extension when flights are delayed by bad weather and in other adverse circumstances, TBS reported Saturday.

Airport operators say the change was proposed by Mayor Kazunari Koizumi and endorsed by the municipal assembly after a series of low-cost airlines were suspended for landing after 11 p.m. Koizumi told the press the new rule was introduced in a bid to remain competitive and maintain Narita's status as the nation's main air transport hub in the face of competition from other airports.

Flights are currently banned between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. due to noise concerns. Narita city government is currently considering a request by the transport ministry and the airport operator to open the airport to flights from 5 a.m.

Narita city government said that neighboring municipalities will be consulted and studies into the health effects on nearby residents will be carried out.

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12 Comments
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They should make sure the Narita Express runs till after 10pm, that would be a big improvement! Its even worse if you arrive after 11pm, then you are forced to take a 25000Y taxi ride into Tokyo, which is absurd.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

The airline should have to pay the cost of a hotel room if it allows a plane, for example, to take off from LAX, SFO or SEATAC late, knowing that the plane will arrive at a time when after immigration, the passenger cannot get to Tokyo.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

how can this make narita more competitive when the late landing is only for emergency purposes? and if there isn't any public transportation to assist these passengers then this really will be meaningless.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I've never understood how Japanese authorities think they can justify putting up so many hoops that they make foreign travelers jump through. Flying into, or out of, this country is an exercise in frustration. And an expensive exercise at that.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

in this modern age narita should operate 24 hours per day

1 ( +1 / -0 )

in this modern age narita should operate 24 hours per day as it is a very important hub for the pacific and asia

1 ( +1 / -0 )

in this modern age narita should operate 24 hours per day as it is a very important hub for the pacific and asia

Read the history of Narita Airport and you'll see why it doesn't. Narita was a good example of a halfway-done public works project that tried to appease so many different interest groups that the end result doesn't do much of what was intended - to build a premier international gateway for Japan as well as a transit point for intercontinental visitors to Asia.

Narita coasted for a long time with Tokyo being such a major business and leisure destination for foreign visitors, as well as its position as a natural stopover point for visitors from the Americas (and Europe, to a lesser extent). As other regional hubs become more important (Seoul, Hong Kong, various China cities) and aircraft become more efficient, allowing point-to-point trips that don't require connections, Narita's importance will diminish. The restrictions on its size and operation will make it uncompetitive compared to the alternatives.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Japan needs to WAKE UP! Crummy Narita Airport is so far from TOKYO, let alone from the rest of any other major cities here in the Kanto area, that just getting to Narita and back to your own home, even in down town Tokyo takes 1 whole day! So if the authorities in CHIBA really want to stay RELEVANT to modern Japan and to the rest of the modern world, time to wake up and smell the coffee. As Darbysan says, make it open 24/7!! Make sure the trains, buses,taxis, immigration etc..are also open 24/7.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

It's a joke that it closes

0 ( +0 / -0 )

My first thought was on the Narita Express. What they also need to do is extend the window that international arrivals can come into Haneda. If I was to take a flight from JFK to HND, I am near the last trains to get anywhere.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It would help if there were more cheap, local trains to the airport. The best one is Keisei but that takes a long detour south to Chiba city before going back north. Anyone living between Tokyo and the airport knows it's of no help to live closer to the airport. I spend half my time waiting for the buses and trains. Also, the new Hokuso line is useless - why extend that line to the airport if you've only got one or two local trains which actually go to the airport? The nasty bit is that last leg between Narita and Narita airport stations - neither Keisei nor JR are frequent. In fact, sometimes they leave at the same time - if you've missed them then it's a long wait for the next train. And why the hell are buses more expensive than trains (not that they're faster)?

And noise? My family lived right next to one of the world's busiest airports. You get used to the noise.

As a hub, HK and Incheon have got it covered. Narita - too little too late. A half-baked plan in the middle of nowhere.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

NRT's location is excellent. SFO and LAX have noise restriction rules and no possible way to expand. SMF is still surrounded by open land but it is already resisting pressure to allow more buildings and homes. The point is what came first - the airport or the development? No answer needed! The only solution is a shinkansen from NRT #1 / #2 to Tokyo.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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