Kobe Airport
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| Kobe Airport 神戸空港 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: UKB - ICAO: RJBE | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | public | ||
| Serves | Kobe | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 15 ft (5 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 08/26 | 8,202 | 2,500 | Paved |
Kobe Airport (神戸空港 Kōbe Kūkō?) (IATA: UKB, ICAO: RJBE) is an airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, Japan. Opened on February 16, 2006, the airport primarily handles domestic flights, but can also accommodate international charter flights. It is designated as a third class airport.
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[edit] Controversy
Kobe is already the most indebted municipality in Japan with debts of over ¥3 trillion, and this project's cost (estimated at over ¥1 trillion, or US $8.7 billion) has made it very controversial.
Osaka's Kansai International Airport was to have been constructed here instead, but the Kobe municipality rejected it on the grounds that it would be too close to the city. Soon after, however, the Kobe municipality decided to fund the construction of another airport by itself, despite much objection from the central government. The airport faces stiff competition from Osaka International Airport (16mi away) and the larger Kansai International Airport (14mi away), which is already suffering from overcapacity and hemorrhaging money[citation needed]. A citizen group gathered over 300,000 signatures (in a city of 1.5 million) in an unsuccessful attempt to stop the project.
All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines have both announced plans to replace portions of their widebody fleet with a larger number of mid-size aircraft, in part because of a need to fill the excess number of flight slots created by Kobe Airport's construction. [1]
Despite the controversy, many say that the Kobe Airport may actually be beneficial to the Kansai region. The City of Itami is proposing to ban the take-off and landing of Boeing 747 aircraft at Osaka International due to the large amount of noise pollution to the surrounding neighbourhood. If this does take effect, then more smaller jets are needed, thus the need for more timeslots.
Other supporters include the frequent flyers in the region and surrounding areas. The third airport can mean increased competition and lower airfares. People in the surrounding regions (Shikoku, Awaji Island etc.) can now have a closer airport while access to Kansai may be limited. Since the ferry from Tokushima to Kansai Airport was discontinued, travellers have had to rely on alternate means of transportation including a bus to Kansai Airport, which takes an hour longer, or to use the local Tokushima airport, which is limited in schedules.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
- All Nippon Airways (Kagoshima, Niigata, Okinawa, Sapporo Chitose, Sendai, Tokyo Haneda) [2]
- Japan Airlines (Kagoshima, Kumamoto, Okinawa, Sapporo Chitose, Sendai, Tokyo Haneda) [3]
- Skymark Airlines (Tokyo Haneda) [4]
[edit] Ground transportation
On February 2, 2006, Kobe Airport Station (神戸空港駅) was connected to Sannomiya Station in central Kobe by an extension of the existing Port Liner automated guideway transit system. Travel time to Sannomiya is sixteen minutes. From Sannomiya, it is 19 minutes to Osaka Station and 47 minutes to Kyoto Station by JR special rapid express.
