Fukuoka Airport 福岡空港 Fukuoka Kūkō
IATA: FUK – ICAO: RJFF
Summary
Airport type		Military/Public
Operator		Civil Aviation Bureau Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
Location		Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Elevation AMSL		30 ft / 9 m
Coordinates		33°35′04″N 130°27′06″E / 33.58444°N 130.45167°E / 33.58444; 130.45167 (Fukuoka Airport)Coordinates: 33°35′04″N 130°27′06″E / 33.58444°N 130.45167°E / 33.58444; 130.45167 (Fukuoka Airport)
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
16/34	2,800	9,186	Asphalt/Concrete
Source: Japanese AIP at AIS Japan

Fukuoka Airport (福岡空港, Fukuoka Kūkō) (IATA: FUK, ICAO: RJFF), formerly known as Itazuke Air Base, is an international and domestic airport located 1.6 NM (3.0 km; 1.8 mi) east of Hakata Station in Fukuoka, Japan. It is officially designated a second class airport. It is operating at full capacity, and cannot be further expanded. Flights stop at 10 p.m. to allow local residents some peace and quiet, starting again at 7 a.m..

The airport is located in Hakata-ku, south-east of the city centre. It is connected to the rest of the city by Fukuoka City Subway and road, and a subway from the airport to the business district takes less than ten minutes.

Fukuoka Airport is the fourth busiest passenger airport in Japan. In 2006, it was used by 18.1 million people and there were 137,000 takeoffs and landings.

There is only one runway of 2800 metres, which was constructed for propeller aircraft. The airport is surrounded by residential areas and the approach is reminiscent of the old Hong Kong airport, Kai Tak International.

In the mid-1990s, Delta Air Lines operated a non-stop flight between Fukuoka and Portland, Oregon, where the airline once operated its trans-pacific hub. When the route was dropped due to financial pressure, Fukuoka lost its first and only non-stop service to the mainland U.S.

From 1952 to 1972, Fukuoka Airport was the site of a United States Air Force base named Itazuke.

Accidents

• On June 13, 1996, a Garuda Indonesia Airways DC-10, Flight 865, crashed on take-off, killing three passengers and severely injuring 18 more. The pilot appeared to hesitate about applying full throttle upon a single engine failure. The crash occurred within the airport perimeter when the aircraft was already airborne, nine feet off the ground.

• On August 12, 2005, metal fragments fell in a Fukuoka residential area from a JALways airplane bound for Honolulu after an engine briefly caught fire shortly after take-off. Two people on the ground were injured by falling debris.

• On March 31, 1970, Japan Airlines Flight 351, carrying 131 passengers and 7 crew from Tokyo to Fukuoka, is hijacked by nine members of the Japanese Red Army group. 23 passengers were freed at Fukuoka Airport, mainly children or old aged. 108 passengers and all crew members with Red Army group left Fukuoka, bound for Gimpo Airport, near Seoul. Three days after, Red Army group ask to be flown to North Korean capital Pyongyang, before leaving from Seoul, 103 passenger and crew hostages are freed, and nine Red Army group members surrendered to North Korean authorities.

Alternative Sites for the Airport

Airport diagram

With Fukuoka's ambitions to become a hub for business and travel in East Asia and former Mayor Mr. Hirotaro Yamasaki's stated ambition to bring the Olympic Games to Fukuoka and Kyushu in 2016, moving the airport further inland or to an offshore artificial island to accommodate increased traffic has been considered. However, the idea of a new airport in the sea off Shingu has been opposed by environmentalists. The Gan-no-su coastal area has also been mooted, and it was the site of an airfield in the 1940s, but similar environmental concerns exist there.

There is some debate as to whether a new airport is really needed, given the cost, the environmental problems and the nearby and hugely underutilized New Kitakyushu Airport (opened on March 16, 2006) which has 21-hour operation and Saga Airport. A combination of the three airports appropriately used may provide a solution for the time being.

Airlines and destinations

Fukuoka Airport Terminal 2 at night

Aircraft of Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways at Gates 1-6 at Terminal 3

Fukuoka Airport
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Fukuoka Airport
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Fukuoka Airport
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Fukuoka Airport
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Fukuoka Airport
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Fukuoka Airport
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Fukuoka Airport
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Fukuoka Airport
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Fukuoka Airport
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Fukuoka Airport
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Fukuoka Airport
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The content above was published at Airports-Worldwide.com in 2010.
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