Kikai Airport

Kikai/Kikaigashima Island Airport

喜界空港

Kikai Kūkō
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorGovernment
LocationKikai, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan
Elevation AMSL15 ft / 5 m
Coordinates28°19′17″N 129°55′41″E / 28.32139°N 129.92806°E / 28.32139; 129.92806
Map
RJKI is located in Kagoshima Prefecture
RJKI
RJKI
Location in Japan
RJKI is located in Japan
RJKI
RJKI
RJKI (Japan)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
07/25 1,200 3,937 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers79,892
Cargo (metric tonnes)184
Aircraft movement4,006

Kikai Airport (喜界空港, Kikai Kūkō) (IATA: KKX, ICAO: RJKI), also known as Kikaijima Airport[2] or Kikaiga Shima Airport,[3] is located in Kikai, a town on Kikaijima (also known as Kikai Island, Kikaishima, Kikaigashima, etc.), one of the Amami Islands in the Kagoshima Prefecture of Japan.

History

An airstrip was opened on the island of Kikaijima in 1931 by the Imperial Japanese Navy. It was attacked by the United States Navy repeatedly during the Battle of Okinawa in the final stages of World War II. One of the pilots on these raids was Samuel Hynes, later a well-known author and university professor. He flew a single-engine Avenger aircraft.[4] In May 1968, the old airstrip was re-opened for commercial use with a 1200-meter runway. The airport was closed from August to December 1968 to permit strengthening of the runway. In April 1971, it was designated as a third-class airport by the Japanese government.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Japan Air Commuter Amami Ōshima, Kagoshima

References

  1. ↑ "Kikai Airport" (PDF). Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  2. ↑ Kikaijima Airport guide from Japan Airlines
  3. ↑ Kikaiga Shima Airport at Aviation Safety Network
  4. ↑ Hynes, Samuel (1988). Flights of Passage. US Naval Inst. 1988 p. 241.

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