On March 14, NAA (Narita International Airport) held the fifth meeting of the “New Narita Airport” Concept Study Group at the Transportation Research Institute to further enhance the functions of Narita Airport. The study group, which has gathered all members, will be temporarily suspended for the purpose of making an interim summary.
As in previous years, the audience, including online participation, included NAA management, including President Akihiko Tamura, mayors and town mayors of surrounding municipalities, the deputy governor of Chiba Prefecture, Hirotaka Yamauchi, director of the Transportation Research Institute, which chairs the concept study committee, and officials from various universities.
After the study session, President Tamura and Chairman Yamauchi also briefed the press on the approximate potential construction sites for the new terminal and the new cargo area.
Forty-four years have passed since Narita Airport opened, and there are numerous demands from businesses and travelers, such as inefficiency due to the aging of existing buildings and the need for faster airport access. Furthermore, according to government and NAA estimates, future demand for the airport is expected to grow further, with 500,000 departures and arrivals expected between FY2032 and FY2048.
From this, it is expected that the number of passengers will increase from the current 40 million to 75 million, cargo handling from 2 to 3 million tons, and the number of employees in the airport from 40,000 to 70,000, requiring more capacity.
Therefore, the first meeting of the study group discussed the construction of a third runway, the second meeting discussed the construction of a new cargo area, the third meeting discussed the creation of a single terminal with a new consolidated terminal, and the fourth meeting discussed access to the airport.
At this meeting, participants were invited to review a brushed-up version of what had been discussed in the previous meetings, and to exchange opinions on how to transform the “Draft Interim Summary” into an “Interim Summary”. The summary was divided into the following four sections. The outline was divided into the following four sections, with “regional symbiosis and community development,” which was requested by many municipalities, included as a separate section.
© Source travel watch