is a regional airport in

Sakata, Yamagata is a city located in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 106,244 in 39,320 households, and a population density of 180 people per km2. The total area of the city is . History The area of present-day Sakata was ...

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 n ...

. The municipalities of

Tsuruoka is a city in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 125,389 in 49,024 households, and a population density of 95.74 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Tsuruoka is the biggest city in Tōhoku region ...

and Shōnai are also near the airport.

History

The airport opened in 1991 after lobbying efforts by local chambers of commerce, as the area was highly isolated from the major cities of Tokyo and Osaka, requiring half a day of travel to reach either.

All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...

(ANA) initially operated service to both Tokyo (Haneda) and Osaka (Itami), but cancelled the Osaka service in 2009. There was also nonstop service to

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

from 1995 to 2007.

Seiko Epson Seiko Epson Corporation, or simply known as Epson, is a Japanese multinational electronics company and one of the world's largest manufacturers of computer printers and information- and imaging-related equipment. Headquartered in Suwa, Nagano ...

has also used the airport for weekly employee charter flights to and from

Matsumoto Matsumoto (松本 or 松元, "base of the pine tree") may refer to: Places * Matsumoto, Nagano (松本市), a city ** Matsumoto Airport, an airport southwest of Matsumoto, Nagano * Matsumoto, Kagoshima (松元町), a former town now part of the c ...

since 1997. In December 2012, an ANA flight landing from Tokyo overran the runway at Shonai. There were no fatalities, but the airport was closed for the following day.

Airlines and destinations

Transportation

References

External links

Airport Website operated by Shonai Airport Building Co., Ltd
*

* * Airports in Japan Transport in Yamagata Prefecture Buildings and structures in Yamagata Prefecture Sakata, Yamagata Airports established in 1991 1991 establishments in Japan {{yamagata-geo-stub