Tokyo’s two airports, Narita and Haneda, have been vying for international flights for the past decade. Just before the pandemic hit, airlines were starting to shift their international flights to Haneda’s more convenient location. But have those plans changed since Japan started to reopen? And which Tokyo airport is seeing a faster recovery?
Haneda vs Narita: The Game of Ping Pong
Haneda, Tokyo’s original airport, opened in 1931 and functioned as Tokyo’s main international airport until Narita was built in 1978, relegating Haneda to handling mainly domestic flights.
That changed in 2010 when Haneda opened a new international passenger terminal, and a fourth runway was built. Initially, international flights were limited to nighttime slots, but these were expanded over the 2010s, and in 2019, 50 additional airport slots were allocated to international airlines thanks to airspace changes in anticipation of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
When we look at the split of total Tokyo…
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