Kansai Airports to Add Slots, Flight Paths for Expo; Steps Taken to Limit Additional Noise for Residents

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:45 JST, July 16, 2024

Kansai municipalities and other stakeholders agreed on Monday to increase takeoff and landing slots at Kansai International Airport by introducing new flight paths over Awaji Island.

Ahead of the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, a council comprising municipalities and business stakeholders has held discussions about three airports in the Kansai region — Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture, Osaka International Airport straddling Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, plus Kobe Airport in Hyogo Prefecture — with expectations of increased demand for air travel.

The upper limit on the number of takeoff and landing slots at Kansai International Airport will be raised to 60 per hour in March next year from 45 currently. At Kobe Airport, which is for domestic flights only, slots will also be increased to 120 per day from 80 currently.

Members of the council agreed on the introduction of new flight paths at a meeting in Osaka City on Monday. Current flight paths pass over the sea, as well as over areas of Osaka and Wakayama prefectures and Awaji Island in Hyogo Prefecture. At times of northerly winds, only two departure routes are currently available, passing over the northern part of Awaji Island, including over the Akashi Strait, but the new plan would open two additional two routes over the central and southern parts of the island.

The council had agreed to the idea of increasing the slots in September 2022, and the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has been working on specific flight paths and noise reduction measures.

Giving consideration to opinions of residents around the airports and relevant local communities on measures for addressing aircraft noise, operation hours for the new flight paths will be limited to the period from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the aircraft will fly at as high an altitude as possible when passing over land.

At a press conference following the meeting, Masayoshi Matsumoto, chairman of the Kansai Economic Federation, said: “[The agreement is] a major step forward for the entire Kansai region. In order to reduce the burden on the living environment of local residents as much as possible, we will also confirm the conditions of the environmental monitoring system and share our understanding of the situation.”