Tokyo’s Narita Airport Gears Up For Major Growth With Groundbreaking Runway Expansion And Modernized Facilities To Handle Increased Passenger And Cargo Traffic – Travel And Tour World

Tokyo’s Narita Airport plans major expansion with a new runway and facility upgrades to boost capacity, easing pressure from Haneda and supporting tourism growth.

Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) is facing capacity limitations, making it unrealistic to expand beyond its current 490,000 annual departure and arrival slots. In contrast, Narita Airport (NRT) has the potential for capacity growth, according to Tamura’s comments at the Japan International Transport and Tourism Institute Civil Aviation Symposium in Washington on March 26.

As part of the expansion plan, a third runway will be added at NRT, stretching 3,500 meters (11,480 feet), while the second runway will also be extended from 2,500 meters to 3,500 meters.

Tamura explained that this expansion, along with upgrades to passenger and cargo facilities, will increase NRT’s capacity from 300,000 to 500,000 annual slots for arrivals and departures. The Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) expects the runway expansion to be completed by the end of the decade, though no specific timeline for the full range of projects has been set.

MLIT’s assistant vice minister for international aviation, Rieko Nakayama, reported that Japan welcomed a record 36.9 million international visitors in 2024, marking a 47% increase from 2023 and a 16% rise compared to 2019. Japan is aiming to attract 60 million international visitors by 2030, more than double the 2024 total.

In addition to passenger growth, expanding cargo traffic is a key focus for NRT, which currently handles 17% of the value of all cargo entering Japan, making it the largest air and sea port in the country. Tokyo’s sea port follows at 11%, according to Tamura.

Cindy Baraban, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s deputy assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs, noted that the Japan-U.S. air transport market remains strong, even though it hasn’t fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. She highlighted that 9.2 million passengers traveled between the U.S. and Japan in 2024, a 25% increase from the previous year, although still 13% below 2019 figures.