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▼ Airports In Kansai Hold Improvement Talks
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OSAKA (Jiji Press) — A meeting was held on Monday for talks on the roles of three major airports in the Kansai region and how to better utilize them.
Major topics at the meeting, the first of its kind in eight years and eight months, included reviews of the operations of Osaka International Airport, better known as Itami Airport, which straddles Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, and Kobe Airport amid an increase in the number of foreign visitors to Japan and following a violent typhoon in September.
The typhoon flooded Kansai International Airport, located on a man-made island in Osaka Bay, forcing it to shut temporarily.
Major topics at the meeting, the first of its kind in eight years and eight months, included reviews of the operations of Osaka International Airport, better known as Itami Airport, which straddles Osaka and Hyogo prefectures, and Kobe Airport amid an increase in the number of foreign visitors to Japan and following a violent typhoon in September.
The typhoon flooded Kansai International Airport, located on a man-made island in Osaka Bay, forcing it to shut temporarily.
The meeting, held in Osaka, was participated in by officials of Kansai Airports, the operator of the three airports, the transport ministry, the Osaka and Hyogo prefectural governments, and other entities.
At the start of the closed-door session, Masayoshi Matsumoto, head of the Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren), who chaired the meeting, proposed that discussions be held first on operations of domestic, international and international chartered flights, and private jets from the short-, medium- and long-term perspectives.
Matsumoto, also chairman and chief executive officer of Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., told a press conference after the meeting that Kansai Airports asked for a hike in the annual number of takeoffs and landings at Kansai International Airport from the current 230,000, in a bid to beef up its functions.
“We had various opinions at the meeting,” he said, adding, “I hope that the next meeting will be held around spring next year.”
Hyogo Gov. Toshizo Ido told reporters that operational restrictions at Kobe Airport need to be reviewed. “I want a study to be made on allowing the airport to handle international chartered flights,” he said.
Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui sought an improvement in passenger convenience at Itami Airport as a top-priority issue, saying that the airport should be allowed to accept delayed flights outside operating hours.
At the start of the closed-door session, Masayoshi Matsumoto, head of the Kansai Economic Federation (Kankeiren), who chaired the meeting, proposed that discussions be held first on operations of domestic, international and international chartered flights, and private jets from the short-, medium- and long-term perspectives.
Matsumoto, also chairman and chief executive officer of Sumitomo Electric Industries Ltd., told a press conference after the meeting that Kansai Airports asked for a hike in the annual number of takeoffs and landings at Kansai International Airport from the current 230,000, in a bid to beef up its functions.
“We had various opinions at the meeting,” he said, adding, “I hope that the next meeting will be held around spring next year.”
Hyogo Gov. Toshizo Ido told reporters that operational restrictions at Kobe Airport need to be reviewed. “I want a study to be made on allowing the airport to handle international chartered flights,” he said.
Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui sought an improvement in passenger convenience at Itami Airport as a top-priority issue, saying that the airport should be allowed to accept delayed flights outside operating hours.
- December 26, 2018
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