is an airport located northwest of

Amakusa, Kumamoto is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. As of March 31, 2017, Amakusa has an estimated population of 83,082 and a population density of 120 persons per km2. The total area is . Amakusa has the distinction of being the fastest depopu ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, on the

Amakusa Islands , which means "Heaven's Grass," is a series of islands off the west coast of Kyushu, the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan. Geography The largest island of the Amakusa group is Shimoshima, which is 26.5 miles long and 13.5 m ...

. Locals often refer to the airfield as Amakusa Airport. It is located on the northern side of the Amakusa Islands, north west of Amakusa city. Only one airline,

Amakusa Airlines is an airline based in Amakusa, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. It operates regional services from and to Amakusa. Its main base is Amakusa Airfield, with a focus city in Kumamoto Airport. History The airline was established on 12 October 1998 a ...

, uses this airfield, in which lthe airline is headquartered.

History

On September 6, 1982, the governor of

Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...

announced plans for a small airport during a regular press conference. On December 26, 1990, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport approved the construction of the airfield. Construction began in 1992. The first plane that landed at this airport was a

DHC-8 The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...

on November 19, 1999. The airfield was opened for public use on March 23, 2000. In the spring of 2000, it had round trips between Amakusa Islands and Kumamoto twice a day. Starting from December 1, 2005, the operating time was extended from (8:00 am ～ 7:00 pm) to (7:40 am ～ 8:30 pm). It now has three round trips between Amakusa Airfield and

Fukuoka Airport , formerly known as Itazuke Air Base, is an international and domestic airport located east of Hakata Station in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. Fukuoka Airport is the principal airport on the island of Kyushu and is the fourth busiest passenger ...

and one round trip between Amakusa Airfield and

Kumamoto Airport , also known as , is an airport in Mashiki, Kumamoto, Japan. History The first Kumamoto Airport opened in 1960 on the site of a former Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 t ...

(also one round trip between Kumamoto Airport and

Kobe Airport is an airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, south of Sannomiya StationAIS Japan

(pictured on the right) is the only regular, scheduled, aircraft that uses this airfield.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airport communications

* Air / Ground (130.775 MHz)

Runway information

Landings are made using

VOR VOR or vor may refer to: Organizations * Vale of Rheidol Railway in Wales * Voice of Russia, a radio broadcaster * Volvo Ocean Race, a yacht race Science, technology and medicine * VHF omnidirectional range, a radio navigation aid used in a ...

/ DME approach on runway 13/31. The airport has a single runway, 13/31, which is and is constructed of

asphalt concrete Asphalt concrete (commonly called asphalt, blacktop, or pavement in North America, and tarmac, bitumen macadam, or rolled asphalt in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland) is a composite material commonly used to surface roads, parkin ...

. The lighting systems on runway 13/31 are

High Intensity Runway Lights Runway edge lighting are used to outline the edges of runways during periods of darkness or restricted visibility conditions. These light systems are classified according to the intensity they are capable of producing: * High intensity runway l ...

Runway End Identification Lights Runway end identifier lights (REIL) (ICAO identifies these as Runway Threshold Identification Lights) are installed at many airports to provide rapid and positive identification of the approach end of a particular runway. The system consists of a ...

, and

Precision Approach Path Indicator A precision approach path indicator (PAPI) is a visual aid that provides guidance information to help a pilot to acquire and maintain the correct approach (in the vertical plane) to an airport or an aerodrome. It is generally located on the left- ...

(PAPI).

Airport facilities

* 1st Floor ** Information Office ** Departure ** Arrival Lobby ** Amakusa Airlines Headquarters ** Washrooms ** Breast-feeding room ** Tourist Information ** Shop ** Taxi bus * 2nd Floor ** Observation deck ** Administration Office

Time zone

* UTC+9

Japan Standard Time , or , is the standard time zone in Japan, 9 hours ahead of UTC ( UTC+09:00). Japan does not observe daylight saving time, though its introduction has been debated on several occasions. During World War II, the time zone was often referred to a ...

Ground transport

All ground transport is located on the first floor.

Bus

Kyushu Sanko Bus ( 九州産交バス) operate bus routes from airport to Amakusa city.

Road

The airport is connected by Kumamoto Prefecture Amakusa Highway No.334 and Itsuwa Road No.47.

References

External links

Amakusa Airfield

AXJ Amakusa Airfield
{{authority control Airports in Japan Transport in Kumamoto Prefecture Buildings and structures in Kumamoto Prefecture