Fukuoka Airport
Encyclopedia : F : FU : FUK : Fukuoka Airport
{| class="infobox bordered" style="width: 220px; font-size: 95%;" |- ! colspan="4" style="text-align: center; background-color: #4682B4; color: white;" |Fukuoka Airport
福岡空港 |- |align="center" colspan="4"|
|- !colspan="4" style="text-align: center; background-color: #4682B4; color: white;" |Runways |- !bgcolor="lightgrey" rowspan="2"|Direction !bgcolor="lightgrey" colspan="2"|Length !bgcolor="lightgrey" rowspan="2"|Surface |- !bgcolor="lightgrey"|ft !bgcolor="lightgrey"|m |- !align="left" valign="top"|16/34 |valign="top" align="right"|9,186 |valign="top" align="right"|2,800 |valign="top"|Paved
, is an international and domestic airport in Fukuoka, Japan. It is officially designated a second class airport. It is currently operating at full capacity, and cannot be further expanded. Flights stop at 10 p.m. to allow local residents some peace and quiet, starting again at 7 a.m..The airport is conveniently located for Fukuoka residents in Hakata-ku, South-East of the city centre. It is connected to the rest of the city by subway and road, and a subway from the airport to the business district takes less than ten minutes. Yet its very convenience raises questions and concerns about its safety.
Accidents and Safety Concerns
- There is only one runway of 2800 metres, which was originally constructed for propeller aircraft. The airport is surrounded by residential areas and the approach is reminiscent of the old Hong Kong airport, Kai Tak International, though no washing line has yet been reported as having been carried off on a wingtip!
- Fukuoka airport was the site of an aircraft accident on July 13, 1996 when a Garuda Indonesia Airways DC-10 crashed on take-off, killing three passengers and severely injuring 18 more. The pilot appeared to hesitate about applying full throttle. The crash occurred within the airport perimeter.
- On August 12, 2005, metal fragments fell in a Fukuoka residential area from a JALways airplane bound for Honolulu after an engine briefly caught fire shortly after take-off. This clearly underlines the hazards of this airport situated in a built-up urban area, as well as JAL's recent poor maintenance record. A boy and a man were injured by fragments. The airplane was forced to jettison fuel, return to Fukuoka airport and land there. The sight of flames coming from the engine was captured by a NHK film crew which happened to be recording because the service to Hawaii is soon to be withdrawn as it is unprofitable. [link] The Fukuoka prefectural governor Wataru Aso visited the school playground where the fragments fell and expressed grave concern.
Alternative sites for the airport
With Fukuoka's ambitions to become a hub for business and travel in East Asia - let alone the Mayor Mr. Hirotaro Yamasaki's stated ambition to bring the Olympic Games to Fukuoka and Kyushu in 2016 - Fukuoka City has been considering moving the airport further inland or to an offshore artificial island to accommodate increased traffic.
However, the idea of a new airport in the sea off Shingu has been opposed by environmentalists. The Gan-no-su coastal area has also been mooted, and it was the site of an airfield in the 1940s, but similar environmental concerns exist there.
There is some debate as to whether a new airport is really needed, given the cost, the environmental problems and the nearby New Kitakyushu Airport now under construction (due to open on March 16, 2006) which will have 21-hour operation. Saga Airport is also under-utilized. A combination of the three airports appropriately used may provide a solution for the time being.
Airlines and destinations
Domestic
- Air Nippon (Fukue, Fukushima, Ishigaki, Komatsu, Niigata, Sendai, Toyama, Tsushima)
- All Nippon Airways (Nagoya, Okinawa, Osaka Itami, Osaka Kansai, Sapporo, Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita)
- Amakusa Airlines (Amakusa)
- J-Air (Izumo)
- Japan Air Commuter (Izumo, Kagoshima, Kochi, Takamatsu, Tokushima)
- Japan Airlines (Nagoya, Okinawa, Osaka Itami, Osaka Kansai, Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita)
- Japan Air System (Aomori, Hanamaki, Kagoshima, Matsumoto, Nagano, Matsuyama, Miyazaki, Niigata, Sapporo, Sendai)
- Japan Transocean Air (Okinawa)
- Oriental Air Bridge (Fukue, Kamigoto, Ojika)
- Skymark Airlines (Tokyo Haneda)
International
- Air China (Beijing, Chengdu, Dalian, Shanghai/Pudong)
- Air Nippon (Taipei/Chiang Kai Shek)
- Asiana Airlines (Busan, Jeju, Seoul/Incheon)
- Australian Airlines (Cairns) (Suspended)
- Cathay Pacific Airways (Hong Kong, Taipei/Chiang Kai Shek)
- China Airlines (Taipei/Chiang Kai Shek)
- China Eastern Airlines (Beijing, Shanghai/Pudong, Qingdao, Xian)
- China Southern Airlines (Dalian, Guangzhou, Guilin, Haikou, Shenyang, Wuhan)
- Continental Airlines
- * Continental Airlines operated by Continental Micronesia (Guam)
- EVA Air (Taipei/Chiang Kai Shek)
- Garuda Indonesia (Denpasar)
- JALways (Honolulu)
- Japan Airlines (Shanghai/Pudong)
- Korean Air (Busan, Seoul/Incheon)
- Malaysian Airlines (Kuala Lumpur)(This service ends 1st of September 2006)
- Philippine Airlines (Manila)
- Singapore Airlines (Singapore)
- Thai Airways International (Bangkok)
- Vietnam Airlines (Ho Chi Minh City)
External links
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