Eager Travelers Crowd Narita Airport to Start Summer Vacation

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:23 JST, August 10, 2023

The departure lobby at Narita Airport is crowded as travelers lug their suitcases through the terminal on Thursday morning. The number of people leaving the country for summer vacation reached its peak at Narita ahead of the first Bon Festival since COVID-19 was downgraded to Category V under the Infectious Diseases Law. Narita International Airport Corp. expects the number of people departing from Thursday to Aug. 20 will be about 407,200, approximately four times more than the same period last year. However, as a weaker yen and higher fuel costs keep travel expenses high, the number of travelers was just below 70% of what it was in 2019.