Aomori Airport

青森空港

Aomori Kūkō
The terminal building of Aomori Airport in 2021
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorAomori Prefecture
LocationAomori, Japan
Elevation AMSL650 ft / 198 m
Coordinates40°44′00″N 140°41′19″E / 40.73333°N 140.68861°E / 40.73333; 140.68861
Websitewww.aomori-airport.co.jp
Map
RJSA is located in Aomori Prefecture
RJSA
RJSA
Location in Japan
RJSA is located in Japan
RJSA
RJSA
RJSA (Japan)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
06/24 3,000 9,843 Asphalt concrete
Statistics (2015)
Passengers992,696
Cargo (metric tonnes)1,762
Aircraft movement16,357

Aomori Airport (青森空港, Aomori Kūkō) (IATA: AOJ, ICAO: RJSA) is an international airport located 11.2 km (7.0 mi) south southwest of Aomori Station[2] in Aomori, the capital city of Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan. The airport has international service within East Asia in addition to several domestic routes and serves as an international gateway to northern Tōhoku. In 2018, the airport was the 27th-busiest in Japan by passenger traffic.[3]

History

Permission to build Aomori Airport was granted by the Ministry of Transport on 1 September 1962. Construction of the airport was completed in August 1964 and the first Aomori Airport was opened on 5 November 1964,[4] in the town of Namioka that has since been annexed by the city of Aomori, with a single 1200 x 30 meter runway designed for use with the NAMC YS-11 aircraft. The airport was located at an altitude of 200 meters in a valley surrounded by mountains, which hampered operations during inclement weather. The runway was lengthened to 1350 meters in 1971, widened to 45 meters in 1972, and extended to 1400 meters in 1973. The terminal building was expanded in 1974, and again in 1978.[5]

Due to the geographic limitations of the existing site, design work began to shift the position of the airport to its present location southwest of downtown Aomori, much of the land occupied by the old airport still lies within the northeastern premises of the current airport - roughly along the apron designated for light aircraft. The new facilities opened in 1987 with a single 2000 x 60 meter runway, with an ILS system. The runway was extended to 2500 meters in 1990. In 1995, the airport terminal building was remodeled, and certified as suitable for international operations.[5]

The runway was extended to 3,000 meters in 2005, and the instrument landing system upgraded to handle Cat-3a fog conditions in 2007.[5] The Tōhoku Shinkansen high-speed rail line was extended to Aomori in 2010, adding intense competition on the Aomori–Tokyo route.[6] The government of Aomori Prefecture considered the privatization of the airport in 2012 following a study; however, as of 2019 the airport is still managed by the prefecture.[7] After an increase in passenger traffic and the announcement of increased international services, the terminal was renovated in 2019. The renovation included increased capacity for international customers, the addition of prayer facilities for Muslim travelers, and aesthetic updates to the appearance of the entire terminal building.[8]

Historical airline service

The first scheduled air service to and from Aomori Airport began on 1 June 1965, with Toa Airways - which would later be known as Japan Air System (JAS) - servicing Haneda Airport by NAMC YS-11 turboprop aircraft.[9][10] All Nippon Airways (ANA) began operations to Tokyo in 1994. In the following year, Korean Air began operations to Seoul and Siberian Airlines to Khabarovsk when the airport was certified for international operations.[5] In 1998, Air Nippon began operations to Sendai Airport. However, usage of Aomori Airport fell short of projections, and the service was canceled after a year. In April 2003, ANA withdrew from operations at Aomori as well, turning its routes over to Skymark Airlines, which in turn ceased operations to Aomori from November of the same year. Siberian Airlines stopped its flights to Aomori in 2004.[5]

Following the merger of JAS and Japan Airlines in 2006, the Aomori–Tokyo route and other services run by JAS were handed over to Japan Airlines. ANA resumed services at Aomori Airport on 1 July 2014 with flights to and from Osaka–Itami and Sapporo–Chitose.[11] On 17 July 2019, EVA Air began operating two flights per week between Aomori and Taoyuan International Airport.[12]

Facilities

Runways

A 2017 aerial of Aomori Airport

Aomori Airport has one 3,000-meter-long (9,843 ft) runway that is aligned in a northeast to southwest heading. The runway gets covered in an average 669 centimeters (21.95 ft) of snow annually. The 38-vehicle White Impulse snow removal crew gets rid of the snow covering the airport's runway, taxiway, and apron; an area covering 55 square kilometers (21 sq mi), in 40 minutes.[13]

Ground transportation

The airport terminal can be accessed by car via the Aomori Airport Toll Road. The toll road connects the airport to central Aomori to the northeast and Hirosaki to the southwest. The western end of the toll road lies close to Namioka Interchange (exit 53) on the cross-country Tōhoku Expressway.[14] The airport is serviced by scheduled bus service to central Aomori and Hirosaki; taxis and rental cars are also available.[15]

Airlines and destinations

Apron traffic at Aomori Airport: pictured is a De Havilland Canada DHC-8-400 Dash 8 of ANA Wings parked at the gate, a Boeing 737 Next Generation of Japan Airlines during pushback, and an Embraer 190 of J-Air approaching the gate.
AirlinesDestinationsRefs
ANA Wings Osaka–Itami, Sapporo–Chitose[16]
Fuji Dream Airlines Kobe, Nagoya–Komaki[17]
J-Air Osaka–Itami, Sapporo–Chitose[16]
Japan Airlines Tokyo–Haneda[16]
Korean Air Seoul–Incheon (resumes 20 January 2024)[18]

Statistics

Annual traffic

Annual passenger traffic at AOJ airport. See Wikidata query.
Annual passenger traffic at RJSA, 2000–present
Year Passengers Year Passengers Year Passengers
20001,616,47120101,030,9852020484,615
20011,548,7472011823,3462021
20021,603,7242012824,8182022
20031,462,0542013860,1582023
20041,301,3952014912,9902024
20051,274,2002015992,6962025
20061,254,32520161,072,5542026
20071,271,85220171,167,4362027
20081,161,28520181,190,9022028
20091,054,32120191,250,5692029

Incidents

  • Two United States Air Force F-16 Falcon fighter jets on a training flight from nearby Misawa Air Base made an emergency landing at Aomori Airport on 26 April 2010 due to engine troubles.[19]
  • In a similar incident several years later, two F-16s from Misawa made an emergency landing at Aomori Airport on 15 April 2015 due to an engine oil leak on one of the aircraft; Aomori Governor Shingo Mimura demanded that the U.S. military take measures to prevent a recurrence.[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Aomori Airport" (PDF). Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  2. ↑ AIS Japan
  3. ↑ "管内空港の利用概況集計表(平成３０年1月～平成３１年1月）" [Table summary of the usage of airports (January 2018-January 2019)] (XLS) (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. January 2019. Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  4. ↑ Murakami (8 January 2016). "青森空港開港50周年" [50th anniversary of the opening of Aomori Airport] (in Japanese). City of Aomori. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "概要". Aomori Airport Administration Office. Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  6. ↑ "東北９空港、視界開けず 利用減で赤字補填膨らむ". Nihon Keizai Shimbun. 15 December 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "空港民営化、二兎を追う 経営安定、地域振興を両立" [Privatization of the airport, pursuing two rabbits, both stable management and regional development]. Nihon Keizai Shimbun (in Japanese). 18 August 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2015. 青森県も民営化に関心を寄せる自治体の一つ。県は「青森空港の管理運営のあり方に関する検討会」の提言を受け、13年度からコンセッション方式の検討を開始。９月議会で県土整備部長（当時）は民営化に関する質問に「検討が必要だと認識している」と答えた。結論はまだだが「検討が必要という認識は変わらない」（港湾空港課）。
  8. ↑ "青森空港旅客ターミナル 改装オープン" [Aomori Airport Renovated Passenger Terminal Opens]. The Tō-Ō Nippō Press (in Japanese). 29 July 2019. Archived from the original on 30 July 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  9. ↑ "青森―東京線、就航50周年で式典 利用者、07年度から減少傾向" [Aomori–Tokyo route, ceremony for the 50th anniversary of service, ridership has declined since 2007]. The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). 4 June 2015.
  10. ↑ "青森空港の概要" [Overview of Aomori Airport] (in Japanese). Aomori Prefectural Government. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  11. ↑ "2014年 国内線サマーダイヤについて" [About the 2014 Summer Domestic Diamond] (in Japanese). ANA News. 22 January 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  12. ↑ "EVA Air adds Aomori service from mid-July 2019". Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "Aomori Airport's Snow Removal Team: "White Impulse"". The Japan Times. 24 March 2014. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  14. ↑ "駐車場" [Parking lot] (in Japanese). 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "青森空港から青森県内各地へのアクセス情報". Aomori Airport Terminal Building. Archived from the original on 16 March 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  16. 1 2 3 "出発便一覧" [Departures] (in Japanese). Aomori Airport Company. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  17. ↑ Liu, Jim (24 January 2020). "Fuji Dream Airlines adds Kobe–Aomori service from late-March 2020". Routes Online. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  18. ↑ "Korean Air NW23 Regional Network Expansion – 10NOV23". Aeroroutes. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
  19. ↑ "米Ｆ16が青森空港緊急着陸 ２機、エンジントラブルか". Nihon Keizai Shimbun. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
  20. ↑ "米戦闘機２機が青森空港に緊急着陸 知事、再発防止要請". Nihon Keizai Shimbun. 16 April 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2015.
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