Nagoya Airport
Encyclopedia
History
Nagoya Airport served as the main airport for Nagoya until the opening of Chubu Centrair International Airport on February 17, 2005. This airport IATA Airport CodeIATA airport code
An IATA airport code, also known an IATA location identifier, IATA station code or simply a location identifier, is a three-letter code designating many airports around the world, defined by the International Air Transport Association...
used to be NGO (now overtaken by the new Centrair airport), and its ICAO Airport Code
ICAO airport code
The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-character alphanumeric code designating each airport around the world. These codes are defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization, and published in ICAO Document 7910: Location Indicators.The ICAO codes are used by air traffic...
used to be RJNN when it was classified as a second class airport; the new designations are NKM for regional flights and RJNA designation for general aviation flights. Aichi Prefecture manages the facilities and regularly handles international business flights.
During the 1980s and early 1990s, Nagoya Airport was a busy international airport because of overflow from Japan's other international airports, New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita International Airport
Narita International Airport
is an international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is located east of Tokyo Station and east-southeast of Narita Station in the city of Narita, and the adjacent town of Shibayama....
) near Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
and Osaka International Airport
Osaka International Airport
or Osaka-Itami International Airport is the primary domestic airport for the Kansai region of Japan, including the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is classified as a first class airport....
(Itami Airport) near Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
.
Since the opening of Kansai International Airport
Kansai International Airport
is an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano , Sennan , and Tajiri , in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The airport is off the Honshu shore. The airport serves as an...
in 1994, the airport's main traffic source has been the nearby automotive and manufacturing industries, causing carriers such as United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
and Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
(Portland (OR)) to stop flying to Nagoya (Delta currently serves Centrair Airport with flights to Detroit, Guam, Manila, Saipan, and Honolulu). Some discount holiday flights still operated from Nagoya, drawing passengers from the Kansai region.
On the other hand, the cargo
Cargo airline
Cargo airlines are airlines dedicated to the transport of cargo. Some cargo airlines are divisions or subsidiaries of larger passenger airlines.-Logistics:...
handling capacity of Nagoya Airport was not enough to satisfy the demands from the regional economy and air cargo shifted to Narita and Kansai.
In addition, the airport was hampered by its location in a residential area of Aichi Prefecture, limiting the number of flights that can use the airport, as well as the hours in which they can fly.
Because of these reasons, a new airport, Chubu Centrair International Airport, was built on an island south of Nagoya. On February 17, 2005, nearly all of Nagoya Airport's commercial transport flights moved to Centrair. On the same day, the old airport became a general aviation and airbase facility, as well as was renamed to the current names and accepting J-AIR's headquarters and hub relocation from Hiroshima-Nishi Airport
Hiroshima-Nishi Airport
is an airport in Nishi Ward, located southwest of Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.-History:Hiroshima's first airport opened in Naka-ku, Hiroshima in 1940, but was destroyed during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945...
. A dedicated business aviation terminal and commuter flights within Japan then became the key features of Nagoya's secondary airport.
Military use
Nagoya Airport was opened in 1944 as a military airport named Kamake Airfield, it was attacked on several occasions in 1944 and 1945 by USAAF B-29 SuperfortressB-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
bombing raids.. After the end of World War II, the airfield was taken over by the American occupation forces and renamed Nagoya Air Base.
Reconstruction of the heavily-damaged airfield began and in May 1946, Nagoya became the Headquarters of the Fifth Air Force
Fifth Air Force
The Fifth Air Force is a numbered air force of the United States Air Force Pacific Air Forces . It is headquartered at Yokota Air Base, Japan....
, which controlled Air Force occupation units throughout Japan. In December 1950 during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, Fifth Air Force headquarters was moved to South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, however it returned to Nagoya Air Base in September 1954 and remained until July 1957 when it moved to Fuchu Air Station in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
as part of the USAF return of Nagoya Airport to Japanese control.
The Americans primarily used Nagoya Air Base as a headquarters station for the next ten years, stationing several command and control units at the base:
- 308th Bombardment Wing308th Bombardment Wing (World War II)The 308th Bombardment Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Far East Air Forces, based at Nagoya, Japan. It was inactivated on 30 June 1948....
, 1 Mar 1947-30 Jun 1948
- Moved to Nagoya in March from Kimpo Air Base, South Korea where it had been performing occupation duty since moving there from Okinawa in September 1945
- 85th Fighter Wing, 1 Jun 1947-30 Jun 1948
- Moved from the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
to set up an air defense organization in Japan.
- 314th Air Division314th Air DivisionThe 314th Air Division is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its last assignment was with Pacific Air Forces, based at Osan AB, South Korea. It was inactivated in September 1986....
, 1 Dec 1950-1 Mar 1952
- Activated at Nagoya and assumed the air defense mission of Japan during the Korean War, logistical support for Fifth Air Force during the war, and airfield construction in Japan.
Operational use from the airfield began in February 1947 when the 347th Fighter Group (All Weather)
347th Rescue Group
The United States Air Force's 347th Rescue Group is an active combat search and rescue unit assigned to the 23d Wing at Moody AFB, Georgia.-Mission:...
began operating P-61 Black Widow
P-61 Black Widow
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically for night interception of aircraft, and was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar. It was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design developed during World War II...
interceptor aircraft, which were used to provide air defense for Japan. It operated from the airfield until June 1950 when the Black Widows were retired and the unit was inactivated.
After the Armistice in South Korea which ended combat, the 49th Fighter Group moved to Nagoya Air Base with F-84 Thunderjet
F-84 Thunderjet
The Republic F-84 Thunderjet was an American turbojet fighter-bomber aircraft. Originating as a 1944 United States Army Air Forces proposal for a "day fighter", the F-84 flew in 1946...
s. The unit provided air defense until June 1957 when it moved to Misawa Air Base
Misawa Air Base
right|thumb|A US Navy C-2 at Misawa is a United States military facility located northeast of the railway station in Misawa, west of the Pacific Ocean, northeast of Towada, northwest of Hachinohe, and north of Tokyo, in Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region in the northern part of the...
.
The 6110th Air Base Group, which had maintained the base and the myriad of ground support units at the base since the Americans moved in during 1946 began phasing down after July 1957. The 6110th USAF Hospital remained open until 30 June 1958 when the last Americans left Nagoya Airfield and it was returned to Japanese control.
Incidents and accidents
- On April 18, 1993, Japan Air System Flight 451Japan Air System Flight 451Japan Air System Flight 451 was a Japan Air System flight from Nagoya Airport in the Nagoya area in Aichi Prefecture, Japan to Hanamaki Airport in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture. On April 18, 1993, the Douglas DC-9-41 on the route crashed while landing at Hanamaki Airport. The aircraft, caught by...
, a Douglas DC-9-41 of Japan Air SystemJapan Air Systemwas the smallest of the big three Japanese airlines, headquartered in the JAS M1 Building at Tokyo International Airport in Ōta, Tokyo. In contrast to JAL and ANA, its international route network was very small, but its domestic network incorporated many smaller airports that were not served by...
flying from Nagoya to Hanamaki, crashed after the aircraft, caught by windshear, skidded off of the runway while landing at Hanamaki Airport. All of the passengers and crew survived. - On April 26, 1994, an Airbus Airbus A300B4-622RAirbus A300The Airbus A300 is a short- to medium-range widebody jet airliner. Launched in 1972 as the world's first twin-engined widebody, it was the first product of Airbus Industrie, a consortium of European aerospace companies, wholly owned today by EADS...
jet operating as China AirlinesChina AirlinesChina Airlines is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of Republic of China . Although not directly state-owned, the airline is owned by China Airlines Group, which is owned by the China Aviation Development Foundation...
Flight 140China Airlines Flight 140China Airlines Flight 140 was a route from Taipei, Taiwan to Nagoya, Japan. On 26 April 1994, the Airbus A300 on the route was due to land at Nagoya Airport...
(B-1816) from TaipeiTaipeiTaipei City is the capital of the Republic of China and the central city of the largest metropolitan area of Taiwan. Situated at the northern tip of the island, Taipei is located on the Tamsui River, and is about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
to Nagoya crashed onto the south-east corner of the airport apron whilst trying to land on Runway 34, killing 264 of the 271 people on board, making it the second deadliest crash on Japanese soil. - On October 31, 2007, a Mitsubishi F-2Mitsubishi F-2The Mitsubishi F-2 is a multirole fighter manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Lockheed Martin for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, with a 60/40 split in manufacturing between Japan and the USA. Production started in 1996 and the first aircraft entered service in 2000. The first 76...
fighter jet, whilst on a test flight, crashed and exploded in flames during takeoff. Both pilots survived the incident with minor injuries.