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The Yomiuri Shimbun The jam-packed parking lot is seen in a recent photo at Kagoshima Airport in Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture.
By Daiki Iseri / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
1:00 JST, April 7, 2025
KAGOSHIMA — Parking lot congestion at local airports has become a serious issue around the country due to various factors including reduced bus services and nearby parking lot closures following the COVID-19 pandemic.
As air travel demand, including inbound, continues to pick up, experts point out that the government and private sector should cooperate in taking measures to ensure convenience for drivers.
In early March on a Saturday, all parking lot information boards displayed “full” at Kagoshima Airport in Kagoshima Prefecture.
There was a long line near the entrance as some vehicles circled around, searching for empty spaces.
“Although it ended up being far from the airport entrance, I was somehow able to find a parking space,” said a 76-year-old man from Kagoshima Prefecture who came to see his grandchild off. “I was surprised to see it so crowded even on a normal weekend.”
According to Kagoshima Airport Building Co., the parking lot has a capacity of approximately 1,500 vehicles. About 750,000 cars used it in fiscal 2023, exceeding 90% of pre-pandemic numbers in fiscal 2019.
The parking lot reached full capacity on about 60 days, mainly on weekends and during the year-end and New Year period, which was almost the same as in fiscal 2019.
The company said that the congestion stems partly from an increase in the number of passengers using the airport and a rise in the number of those using their cars due to a reduction of bus services to the airport.
Passenger numbers that fell to as low as 30% of pre-pandemic numbers are now recovering, according to Kagoshima Kotsu, a bus operator based in Kagoshima.
But the number of buses remains halved between the airport and distant areas such as Kanoya and Makurazaki, exacerbated by a shortage of drivers.
The number of buses bound for the city of Kagoshima remains at about 80% of pre-pandemic numbers.
An official at Kagoshima Kotsu complained: “We are trying to increase the number of buses by prioritizing them during peak times, but the shortage of drivers is a nationwide problem, making it hard to secure enough drivers all at once.”
Difficult to find ways to improve
At Naha Airport in Okinawa Prefecture, the parking lot remains full on weekends, even though the number of international flights has decreased to about 80% of what they were pre-pandemic.
This is believed to be partly due to the hike in taxi fares and the fact that the monorail that connects to the airport is often crowded with foreign holidaymakers.
To ease parking lot congestion, on Feb. 1, the airport raised parking fees from ¥1,600 to ¥2,200 for the first 24 hours on Fridays and weekends and holidays.
There has also been an adverse impact from many private parking lots near airports going out of business during the pandemic.
Miyazaki Airport has managed to deal with parking lot congestion by setting up a temporary parking lot in addition to having its staff members park their cars away from the airport.
At airports managed directly by the central government, such as Miyazaki Airport, it is considered harder for private companies that oversee buildings and parking lots to take such drastic measures such as building new multi-story parking facilities.
“It is almost like we are letting the government take care of [the issue],” said an official at a government-managed airport. “That is why it is difficult to find ways to improve things anytime soon.”
An official of the Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism Ministry said: “Due to cost issues, it is difficult to create measures that could take effect immediately. We will increase disseminating relevant information and staff to control congestion while encouraging people to use public transportation and private-run parking lots.”
Passenger numbers further increasing
Fukuoka International Airport Co, a private firm commissioned by the central government, runs Fukuoka Airport. In April 2024, the firm built a new multi-story parking lot for domestic flights. The domestic flight area now accommodates roughly 1,600 vehicles, about twice as much its previous capacity.
It also built a multi-story lot for international flights in February 2023, with a capacity of approximately 1,000 vehicles.
“Airports managed by the central government are structured in a way that makes it difficult to determine who is responsible for improving the convenience,” said Masami Yoshimoto, a specially appointed professor of aviation and management at J. F. Oberlin University.
He added, “As airport passenger numbers are expected to continue increasing, the government and the private sector need to share a long-term vision and, through conducting surveys and such, implement measures.
