Airport News Japan

Haneda Airport’s New International Passenger Terminal Opened to Public - Compact with a Japanese Style

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The new international terminal building at Haneda Airport.

The new international terminal building at Haneda Airport in Ohta Ward, Tokyo was completed on July 31 and shown to the press for the first time on August 2.

The building is one of the main facilities for the re-expansion and internationalization of the airport in October. Construction started in May 2008 on the international section on the west side, which is separated from the domestic terminal by a runway. The building stands five stories tall and total floor space is about 159,000 square meters. Reportedly, it is large enough to handle roughly 7 million travelers annually.

The second and third floors contain facilities serving the core functions of an international airport such as the departures and arrivals lobbies, passenger check-in counters and passport control. The fourth and fifth floors contain a commercial area of 105 stores and dining establishments in an area designed to recreate the appearance of old Edo, which the city of Tokyo was called until 1868. In addition to stores handling Japanese anime and character merchandise for which there is great interest overseas, Haneda will be the first airport in Japan to open a cafe with an authentic planetarium. Adjoined to the terminal is the Access Hall, where boarding locations for the Tokyo Monorail and Keihin Kyuko train stations, airport shuttle buses and other means of transportation are concentrated. Also located at Haneda Airport is the JR East Travel Service Center, which offers transportation information to travelers arriving from overseas in English, Chinese and Korean.

Tokyo International Air Terminal Corporation manages and administers the building. The company’s VP Planning, Yoichi Hirai, said, “We want people to use the advantages of having a 24-hour airport by, for example, boarding an international flight after finishing work. We want everyone to use the airport in patterns that they couldn’t until now and to feel that we are closer to the rest of the world.”

The building and train stations will open on October 21. In addition to the current routes now serving East Asia, new routes with regular international flights to New York, Honolulu, Paris, Bangkok, Singapore and other destinations will begin service on October 31.

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