Editorial
Gov't should turn Haneda into an int'l hub without being bound by past constraints
Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Seiji Maehara has declared that the government will turn Tokyo's Haneda Airport into an international hub. He explained that the government will aim to make Haneda the core airport for air traffic in East Asia.
In principle, Haneda, officially known as Tokyo International Airport, has been used for domestic flights while Narita International Airport in the neighboring prefecture of Chiba has served as an international airport. This principle has been maintained for many years, in consideration for the feelings of the local community of Narita and surrounding areas. International flights at Haneda have been limited to chartered flights.
A fourth runway at Haneda Airport will open to traffic in October next year, sharply increasing the number of slots at the airport. In addition to short-distance scheduled international flights, the previous government had planned to open Haneda Airport for flights to and from North America and Europe only late at night when Narita is closed.
However, this was just an exceptional measure, and the principle of using Narita as the international hub remained unchanged. Maehara's plan to turn Haneda into an international hub would fundamentally change this principle.
Passengers would welcome the plan to turn Haneda, closer to downtown Tokyo than Narita, into an international hub. If Haneda serves as a key junction in Asia for North American flights, it will help increase Japanese airlines' competitiveness on the global market. Moreover, it will also contribute to domestic carriers' competitiveness in the East Asian market.
The transfer of power from the Liberal Democratic Party to the Democratic Party of Japan is opening the way for bold policy changes. It is a good opportunity to review the division of roles between Narita and Haneda, which has been constrained by various strings for years.
However, it is not an easy task to turn Haneda into an international hub. After the opening of its fourth runway, the number of slots will increase from 300,000 to 410,000 a year. The number of slots to be allocated for international flights is expected to be increased from 30,000 as originally planned. Nevertheless, the ongoing expansions of Haneda and Narita are viewed as insufficient to meet the growing demand for air traffic in the metropolitan area. Therefore, Narita will still be necessary even if Haneda is made an international hub.
To turn Haneda into a full-fledged international hub, its slots need to be further increased. If the course of departing flights turning toward the sea is expanded toward the land, officials say it will drastically increase the slots at the airport.
However, it is necessary to gain the local community's consent for such over-flights. Another question is how to secure parking areas for an increased number of aircraft, and an additional runway may be required.
The plan to turn Haneda into an international hub has drawn opposition from Osaka Prefecture, which is home to Kansai International Airport.
Osaka Airport in Itami, Hyogo Prefecture, used to serve as a hub airport in the Kansai region. However, there are now three airports in the region -- Kansai, Osaka and Kobe -- and their division of roles is now obscure. Problems involving Kansai International Airport are closely linked to the division of roles between the three airports. The local community must keep in mind that it should figure out a way to solve the problems internally.
(Mainichi Japan) October 14, 2009