was an airport in Nishi Ward, located southwest of Hiroshima City, Japan. The airport closed in November 2012, with the northern portion of the site continuing operation as Hiroshima Heliport (広島ヘリポート).

History

Hiroshima's first airport, , opened on a nearby island in

Naka-ku, Hiroshima is the heart of Hiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Naka-ku is home to Hiroshima's central business district and Peace Memorial Park. Major attractions include the Hondori shopping arcade, a covered mall-like street of shops extending east ...

in 1940. It was largely destroyed during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, but was used during the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

as a radar base by the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

111 Mobile Fighter Control Unit, and through the 1950s as a landing field for gliders and single-engine piston aircraft.

Hiroshima Airport era

Following the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the Japanese government approved a plan for a new airport in a location which could take advantage of Hiroshima's natural river topography to keep aircraft from flying over residential areas. Hiroshima Airport opened on September 15, 1961, and was initially managed by the Ministry of Transport. Its passenger terminal was the second-largest in Japan at the time, after

Haneda Airport , also known as and sometimes abbreviated to ''Tokyo-Haneda'', is the busier of the two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary domestic base of J ...

. The runway was extended from 1200 meters to 1800 meters in 1972.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is a Japanese airline headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. ANA operates services to both domestic and international destinations and is Japan's largest airline, ahead of its main rival flag carrier Japan Airlines. the airline has approximate ...

began

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is an American narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the t ...

jet service to the airport in 1979, followed by

Boeing 767 The Boeing 767 is an American wide-body airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The aircraft was launched as the 7X7 program on July 14, 1978, the prototype first flew on September 26, 1981, and it was certified ...

service in 1983. An international terminal opened in 1991, and the airport subsequently accommodated

Japan Airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) is the flag carrier airline of Japan. JAL is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport, Narita and Haneda Airport, Haneda airports, as well as secondary hubs in Osaka's Kansai ...

and

Asiana Airlines Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.Home
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...

flights to Seoul-Gimpo, as well as Dragonair flights to

Kai Tak Airport Kai Tak Airport was an international airport of Hong Kong from 1925 until 1998. Officially known as Hong Kong International Airport from 1954 to 6 July 1998, it is often referred to as Hong Kong International Airport, Kai Tak, or simply K ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

J-Air J-Air is a Japanese regional airline with its headquarters at Itami Airport near Toyonaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan and its main base at Itami Airport. J-Air previously had its headquarters in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture. Its operations include sch ...

was based at Hiroshima–Nishi from 1991 until 2005, originally as a division of the JAL Flight Academy, and later provided commuter service to domestic airports using Jetstream 31 and then

Bombardier CRJ-200 The Bombardier CRJ100 and CRJ200 (previously Canadair CRJ100 and CRJ200) are regional jets designed and manufactured by Bombardier Aerospace between 1991 and 2006, the first of the Bombardier CRJ family. The ''Canadair Regional Jet'' (CRJ) pro ...

aircraft.

Hiroshima-Nishi era

Further expansion was necessary to support large jet service, and the airport's location made this impossible. A new Hiroshima Airport was built outside the city, and most airline operations moved to the new airport effective October 29, 1993. The old Hiroshima Airport was then renamed Hiroshima–Nishi Airport and fell under the control of Hiroshima Prefecture. Upon the opening of the new Hiroshima Airport, J-Air was the only scheduled airline that remained at Hiroshima-Nishi. J-Air left the airport at the end of March 2005, and

Japan Air Commuter Japan Air Commuter (JAC) is a Japanese regional airline based in Kirishima, Kagoshima, Kirishima, Kagoshima Prefecture. It operates feeder services in support of Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways. Its main base is Kagoshima Airport, with focu ...

continued to offer commuter service to Miyazaki and

Kagoshima , is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 583,966 in 285,992 households, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Etymology While the ...

using

Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30–36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 differen ...

aircraft until October 31, 2010, when the service was terminated as part of the corporate restructuring of its parent company

. Hiroshima City and Hiroshima Prefecture officials debated the future of the airport for several years in the early 2000s. City officials sought to keep the airport open in order to boost the city's economy, while prefectural officials preferred converting the southern part of the property into a heliport and building an extension of the Hiroshima South Road through the northern part. Following JAC's withdrawal from the airport, Hiroshima City legislators proposed converting the airport into a municipal airport. The ordinance proposal was rejected by the city assembly in March 2011, and a new mayor announced in May that the airport would be converted to a heliport by 2012, in line with the prefecture's original proposal.

Post-closure

Hiroshima Heliport commenced operations on November 15, 2012, and thereafter a number of aviation facilities were relocated so that the heliport site could be downsized. The heliport was used by

Marine One Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying the president of the United States. As of 2024, it is most frequently applied to a presidential transport helicopter operated by Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX ...

helicopters carrying U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

during his 2016 visit to Hiroshima. The buildings, apron, and runway were renovated prior to the 2023 G7 Summit in Hiroshima, which saw a number of world leaders use the heliport. Most of the former airport site was redeveloped as the "Hiroshima Innovation Techno Port" industrial park by

Daiwa House is Japan's largest homebuilder, specializing in prefabricated houses. The company is also engaged in the construction of factories, shopping centers, health care facilities, the management and operation of resort hotels, golf courses and fitn ...

, with the first phase commencing in 2019 and the second phase commencing in 2021. The former Hiroshima Airport arrivals hall now houses the offices of football club

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima () is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Hiroshima. The club competes in the J1 League, top flight of the Japanese football league system. Sanfrecce is one of the most successful clubs in Ja ...

References

External links

* * Defunct airports in Japan Airports in Chūgoku region Transport buildings and structures in Hiroshima Prefecture Transport in Hiroshima Buildings and structures in Hiroshima History of Hiroshima Airports established in 1961 Airports disestablished in 1993 Airports disestablished in 2013 1961 establishments in Japan 1993 disestablishments in Japan 2013 disestablishments in Japan {{Hiroshima-geo-stub