OSAKA, Aug. 2 Kyodo
(EDS: ADDING DETAILS)
Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture opened its second runway for commercial flights early Thursday, enabling the offshore airport to accommodate more flights in peak hours and fully operate around the clock.
About 300 airport officials welcomed the first aircraft -- Japan Airlines Flight 728 from Bangkok -- which touched down at 6:18 a.m. on the new 4,000-meter runway and passed through welcome splashes ofwater discharged from fire engines on a taxiway.
The airport opened 13 years ago with a single 3,500-meter runway.
Officials at the airport -- Japan's second-largest international gateway after Narita airport east of Tokyo -- are hoping to increasecargo traffic by taking advantage of its 24-hour a day operation, unseen at other Japanese airports.
Kansai International Airport Co., the airport's operator, is projecting that international cargo to be handled will triple in the next 10 years, a forecast it hopes to be achieved to ease burdens on the company's finances. It is 1.2 trillion yen in debt.
The second runway had been scheduled to open in October this year. The opening was pushed forward to be ready for the 2007 World Championships in Athletics opening in Osaka on Aug. 25.
The second runway will be available around the clock beginning inOctober at the earliest as the construction of air traffic control facilities could not be finished on time.
The company began building the second runway in July 1999 and finished last December.
Demand for passenger flights to and from China, which hosts the Beijing Olympic Games next summer, is expanding but many long-haul services such as those to North America have been cut.
