Kansai International Airport
Kansai International Airport 関西国際空港 Kansai Kokusai Kūkō | |||||||||||||||
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Kansai International Airport (August 2022) | |||||||||||||||
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| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Owner | New Kansai International Airport Company (NKIAC) | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Kansai Airports (Orix and Vinci Airports) | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Keihanshin | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Izumisano, Sennan, & Tajiri Osaka Prefecture | ||||||||||||||
| Opened | 4 September 1994 | ||||||||||||||
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| Elevation AMSL | 5 m / 17 ft | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 34°25′50″N 135°13′49″E / 34.43056°N 135.23028°E | ||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||
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| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2024) | |||||||||||||||
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Kansai International Airport (Japanese: 関西国際空港, romanized: Kansai Kokusai Kūkō), commonly known as Kankū (Japanese: 関空; IATA: KIX, ICAO: RJBB), is the primary international airport in the Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is located on an artificial island, Kankūjima (関空島), in the middle of Osaka Bay off the Honshu shore, 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano (north), Sennan (south), and Tajiri (central), in Osaka Prefecture. The airport's first airport island covers approximately 510 hectares (1,260 acres) and the second covers approximately 545 hectares (1,347 acres), for a total of 1,055 hectares (2,607 acres).
Kansai opened on 4 September 1994 to relieve overcrowding at Osaka International Airport, also called Itami Airport, which is closer to Osaka. It consists of two terminals: Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. Terminal 1, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, is the longest airport terminal in the world with a length of 1.7 km (1+1⁄16 mi). The airport serves as an international hub for All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines, and Nippon Cargo Airlines and as a hub for Peach, the first international low-cost carrier in Japan. It is also the north Pacific hub for FedEx Express, which obtained fifth freedom rights under the 1998 U.S. and Japan air agreement and established the hub in 2014.
In 2019, 31.9 million passengers used the airport, making it the third busiest in Japan. The freight volume was 802,162 tonnes total: 757,414 t international (18th in the world) and 44,748 t domestic. The 4,000 m × 60 m (13,120 ft × 200 ft) second runway was opened on 2 August 2007. As of June 2014, Kansai Airport has become an Asian hub, with 780 weekly flights to Asia and Australasia (including 119 freight), 59 weekly flights to Europe and the Middle East (5 freight), and 80 weekly flights to North America (42 freight).
In 2020, Kansai was ranked the tenth-best airport in the world by Skytrax and received its awards for Best Airport Staff in Asia, World's Best Airport Staff, and World's Best Airport for Baggage Delivery.