is an

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

located west southwest of

Komatsu Station is a railway station on the Hokuriku Main Line in the city of Komatsu, Ishikawa, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). Lines Komatsu Station is served by the Hokuriku Main Line, and is 148.2 kilometers from the start of the l ...

AIS Japan
/ref> in the city of Komatsu,

Ishikawa Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu island. Ishikawa Prefecture has a population of 1,140,573 (31 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,186 km2 (1,616 sq mi). Ishikawa Prefecture borders Toyama Prefecture to ...

, Japan. It is the largest airport in the

Hokuriku region The was located in the northwestern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. It lay along the Sea of Japan within the Chūbu region, which it is currently a part of. It is almost equivalent to Koshi Province and Hokurikudō area in pre-modern ...

and serves the southern portion of

including the capital of

Kanazawa is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape File:もてな ...

(which has its IATA city code QKW), as well as

Fukui is a Japanese name meaning "fortunate" or sometimes "one who is from the Fukui prefecture". It may refer to: Places * Fukui Domain, a part of the Japanese han system during the Edo period * Fukui Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan located in ...

and the northern portion of

Fukui Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Fukui Prefecture has a population of 778,943 (1 June 2017) and has a geographic area of 4,190 km2 (1,617 sq mi). Fukui Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the north, Gi ...

. The

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also informally referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the air and space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and electronic warfa ...

Komatsu Base (小松基地 ''Komatsu Kichi'') shares the runway with civil aviation; the inland-side taxiway is used by the JASDF and the sea-side one is used by civilian flights. The base hosts a Kōkū-sai (Air Festival) every September, featuring demo flights by fighter and

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ho ...

aircraft as well as the

Blue Impulse (currently 11 Squadron 4th Air Wing, previously 21 Squadron 4th Air Wing) is the aerobatic demonstration team of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). The team was founded in 1960 as a team of six F-86 Sabres. They changed mounts to the Mi ...

acrobat flight team. It often hosts technical competitions of the JASDF. The "Airspace G" is a large training airspace over the

Sea of Japan The Sea of Japan is the marginal sea between the Japanese archipelago, Sakhalin, the Korean Peninsula, and the mainland of the Russian Far East. The Japanese archipelago separates the sea from the Pacific Ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it h ...

to the north of the base. The airport has a single passenger terminal building serving domestic and international flights. Its international cargo terminal, known as HIACT (Hokuriku International Air Cargo Terminal), is owned by a consortium of government and corporate entities and aims to serve as an international distribution center for cargo from Europe and other continents. Its runway surface has been upgraded to enable non-stop freighter flights to and from Europe and North America in late 2006.

History

The airport was originally a base of the

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Construction of the first east-west and north–south runways was completed in 1944. The

United States Armed Forces The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...

took over the base at the end of the war in 1945 and used the site as a radar facility. The airport saw irregular service to Osaka and Nagoya starting in 1955. The base was handed over to the

in 1958 and designated as a jet fighter base in 1960. Komatsu Base was formally inaugurated in 1961. Scheduled service to Osaka and Nagoya began in 1962, using

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

aircraft, followed by

Fokker F.27 The Fokker F27 Friendship is a turboprop airliner developed and manufactured by the Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. It is the most numerous post-war aircraft manufactured in the Netherlands; the F27 was also one of the most successful Europe ...

service to Tokyo in 1963. The airport's first international service was a charter flight from Hong Kong in 1973. Ishikawa Prefecture set aside funds for an airport promotion committee in 2012 amid expectations that the opening of the

Hokuriku Shinkansen The is a high-speed Shinkansen railway line jointly operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and West Japan Railway Company (JR West), connecting Tokyo with in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The first section, between and in Nagano Pr ...

in 2015 would impact traffic on the Komatsu-Tokyo route. *1960 The runway was extended to . Designated as a shared airport for defense and civil. *1964 The runway was extended to to introduce F-104J. *1973 Jet service began with

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Renton Factory in Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the 707 fuselage width and six abreast seating with two un ...

s. *1979 International scheduled service to

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

began. *1980 B747s were introduced to Komatsu Airport, for flights to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

*1981 The new domestic terminal complete. *1984 The new international terminal complete. *1994 HIACT（International Cargo Building）complete. Designated as a Free Access Zone. *1994

Cargolux Cargolux, legally ''Cargolux Airlines International S.A.'', is a Luxembourgian flag carrier cargo airline with its headquarters and hub at Luxembourg Airport. With a global network, it is one of the largest scheduled all-cargo airlines in Europe ...

began international scheduled freight service between

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. *2002 The new HIACT termial complete. *2004 The new

control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airsp ...

began operations. *2005 The temporary runway began operation. *2006 Upgrading of the permanent runway complete. Operations switched to the permanent runway. *2007 USAF F-15C, C-17 came for JASDF joint training. *2007 A new domestic cargo building opens.

Statistics

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

JASDF units

Komatsu is the only fighter base on the

coast. The following JASDF units are stationed at Komatsu: * 6th Air Wing ( 第6航空団) ** 303rd Tactical Fighter Squadron ( Mitsubishi F-15J/DJ)(

Kawasaki T-4 The Kawasaki T-4 is a Japanese subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft developed and manufactured by the commercial conglomerate Kawasaki Heavy Industries. Its sole operator is the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), in part due to historic ...

) **

306th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 306th Fighter Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit. It was most recently activated as an active associate unit of the 119th Fighter Squadron of the New Jersey Air National Guard, stationed at Atlantic City Municipal Airport. ...

( Mitsubishi F-15J/DJ)(

) * Tactical Fighter Training Group * Central Air Civil Engineering Group, 2nd Squadron (中部航空施設隊第２作業隊) * Komatsu Air Rescue Squadron (小松救難隊) –

UH-60J The Mitsubishi H-60 series is twin-turboshaft engine helicopter based on the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter family for use by the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). The SH-60J/K/L are anti-submarine patrol versions for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense ...

and

U-125A The British Aerospace 125 is a twinjet mid-size business jet. Originally developed by de Havilland and initially designated as the DH.125 Jet Dragon, it entered production as the Hawker Siddeley HS.125, which was the designation used until 19 ...

aircraft * Komatsu Air Traffic Control Squadron (小松管制隊) * Komatsu Weather Squadron (小松気象隊) * Komatsu Regional Air Police Squadron (小松地方警務隊) – responsible for criminal investigations of JASDF personnel in

Toyama Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Toyama Prefecture has a population of 1,044,588 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,247.61 km2 (1,640.01 sq mi). Toyama Prefecture borders Ishikawa Prefecture to the ...

and

Other facilities

*Komatsu Airport Office, Ōsaka Air Transportation Bureau. *Komatsu Office, Air Transportation Security Association. *Fire and Disaster Mitigation Office, Ishikawa Prefectural Government. **Equipped with

Bell 412 The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter of the Huey family manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212, with the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor. Design and development Development began in the ...

EP fire and disaster mitigation

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...

"Hakusan". *Komatsu Operations Office, Nakanihon Air Service **A helicopter is based here.

Access

The airport is located near the

Hokuriku Expressway The , (abbreviated as , is a 4-laned national expressway in Japan. It is owned and managed by East Nippon Expressway Company and Central Nippon Expressway Company. Overview The first section was opened in 1972 by Japan Highway Public Corpo ...

. Scheduled bus service is available to

Kanazawa Station is a major railway station in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West), the private railway operator Hokuriku Railroad, and the third-sector operator IR Ishikawa Railway. Beneath a square in front of the JR ...

(40 minutes),

(15 minutes) and Fukui Station (1 hour).

References

External links

Komatsu Airport

Hokuriku International AirCargo Terminal

JASDF Komatsu Base

from

Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...

* * {{authority control Airports in Japan Airports established in 1944 1944 establishments in Japan Japan Air Self-Defense Force bases Transport in Ishikawa Prefecture Buildings and structures in Ishikawa Prefecture Komatsu, Ishikawa