Tokyo's Haneda airport to expand terminal amid rising demand
A new satellite facility with six boarding gates was unveiled on Tuesday at Tokyo's Haneda airport ahead of its September launch amid growing air travel demand.
Tokyo's Haneda airport is set to expand its Terminal 1 facility in September to accommodate rising air travel demand. The North Satellite Facility, comprising six boarding gates, will mark the first major expansion since the terminal opened in September 1993. Designed with environmental sustainability in mind, the hybrid structure employs steel and approximately 1,800 cubic meters of timber.
The new terminal aims to enhance passenger convenience by offering a lounge, a children's area, and self-driving vehicles known as "iino." These iino vehicles can transport up to four passengers for free and provide assistance in navigating the sprawling facility. In 2022, Haneda airport saw over 90 million passengers, surpassing the previous record, and the airport handled approximately 490,000 takeoffs and landings, which is the maximum capacity for flights.
The need for this expansion arises from the increasing number of foreign visitors Japan aims to attract by 2030, with the goal set at 60 million. With such high usage, earlier expansions of Terminal 1 have led to longer wait times for baggage transport, causing flight delays. In response, Japanese airlines announced earlier this month that they will require domestic flight baggage to be checked in at least 30 minutes before departure, up from the previous 20 minutes, to mitigate these delays.
Kumiko Saito, an executive officer at Japanese Airlines, addressed this issue at the pre-opening press event on Tuesday. She mentioned that with the increased distance from the security checkpoint, passengers will need to arrive earlier to complete check-in procedures. Saito requested understanding and cooperation from passengers to ensure timely departures.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, the on-time departure rate, defined as flights taking off within 15 minutes of their scheduled time, has been steadily declining in recent years. It averaged 83 percent for the top 10 airlines in fiscal year 2025.
Written by urgent.news from The Mainichi's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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