New Chitose Airport

Largest commercial airport serving Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

New Chitose Airport (新千歳空港, Shin-Chitose Kūkō) (IATA: CTS, ICAO: RJCC) is an international airport located 2.7 nautical miles (5.0 km; 3.1 mi) south-southeast of Chitose[3] and Tomakomai, Hokkaidō, Japan, serving the Sapporo metropolitan area. By both traffic and land area, it is the largest airport in Hokkaidō.

Airport typePublic
OwnerMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
OperatorHokkaido Airports Ltd.
ServesSapporo metropolitan area
Quick facts 新千歳空港Shin-Chitose Kūkō, Summary ...
New Chitose Airport
新千歳空港
Shin-Chitose Kūkō
New Chitose Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
OperatorHokkaido Airports Ltd.
ServesSapporo metropolitan area
LocationChitose and Tomakomai, Hokkaido, Japan
OpenedJuly 20, 1988; 37 years ago (1988-07-20)
Focus city for
Operating base for
Elevation AMSL70 ft / 21 m
Coordinates42°46′31″N 141°41′33″E
Websitewww.hokkaido-airports.com/en/new-chitose/
Map
CTS/RJCC is located in Hokkaido
CTS/RJCC
CTS/RJCC
Location in Hokkaido
CTS/RJCC is located in Japan
CTS/RJCC
CTS/RJCC
Location in Japan
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
01R/19L 3,000 9,843 Asphalt/concrete
01L/19R 3,000 9,843 Asphalt/concrete
18R/36L[1] 2,700 8,858 Asphalt
18L/36R[1] 4,000 13,123 Concrete
Statistics (2024)
Passengers23,968,186
Cargo (metric tonnes)144,408
Source: Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism[2]
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It is adjacent to Chitose Air Base, a Japan Air Self-Defense Force base which houses F-15 Eagle fighter jets, the Japanese Air Force One government aircraft and a number of smaller emergency response aircraft and helicopters. Chitose and New Chitose have separate runways but are interconnected by taxiways, and aircraft at either facility can enter the other by ground if permitted; the runways at Chitose are occasionally used to relieve runway closures at New Chitose due to winter weather.

New Chitose Airport is one of six 24-hour airports in Japan, but it is the only inland airport; also, this airport has daily opening hours limit unlike other 24-hour operational airport terminals.

As of 2018, it was the fifth-busiest airport in Japan, serving 23.7 million passengers, and ranked 64th in the world in terms of passengers carried.[4] The 819 km (509 mi) Sapporo–Tokyo Haneda route is the second busiest air route in the world, with 9.7 million passengers carried in 2018.[5]

The airport continues to upgrade its facilities to accommodate the growing number of passengers, and Skytrax has it ranked 49th in the top 100 airports in the world in 2024, a jump up from 102nd the previous year. As a result, the airport was awarded Skytrax's World's Most Improved Airport for 2024.[6]

History

New Chitose opened on July 20, 1988, to replace the adjacent Chitose Airport, a joint-use facility which had served passenger flights since 1963.[7] The airport's IATA airport code was originally SPK. This code was later adopted as a city code to refer to both New Chitose and the smaller Okadama Airport in central Sapporo, which handles commuter flights within Hokkaido.

New Chitose became Japan's first 24-hour airport in 1994.[8] Services between 10 PM and 7 AM are currently limited to six flights per day due to noise alleviation concerns. Four of these slots are currently used by passenger flights to Tokyo while the other two are used by cargo flights.[citation needed]

New Chitose previously had long-haul service to Amsterdam (KLM, 1997–2002), Cairns (Qantas, 1992–1998 and 2004–2007) and Honolulu (JALWays, 1992–2003, Hawaiian Airlines since 2012). Service to Europe had resumed when Finnair launched a new weekly flight to Helsinki from 15 December 2019, but this service was terminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.[9] International services are mainly for transporting tourists from the rest of Asia and for sightseeing and skiing. The area surrounding gates 0 through 2, on the north end of the main terminal, was a sterile area for international flights until the international terminal opened for service on March 26, 2010.[citation needed]

The airport was upgraded with a new VIP lounge and other dedicated facilities for the 34th G8 summit, held in Hokkaido in 2008.[10]

Due to the airport's sharing of air traffic control with Chitose Air Base, daytime civil operations are limited to 32 takeoffs and landings per hour, and operations by certain foreign aircraft (including Chinese and Russian aircraft) are prohibited on Mondays and Thursdays. These restrictions were scheduled to be eased in March 2017.[11] A second terminal was built roughly doubling the existing terminal and capacity, completed by August 2019.[12] The second terminal is used to handle international flights.

Operations

Aerial view of New Chitose Airport

The airport has a semicircular domestic terminal (reminiscent of the semicircular terminals at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport) with eighteen gates, and a smaller international terminal with eight gates on the west side.

Operating hours for international flights at CTS are restricted by the Japanese government in order to avoid interference with JASDF operations at the adjacent air base. As of April 2012, international flights are permitted on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 12:00 to 16:00, and from 17:00 on Friday through 23:59 on Sunday.[13]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

More information Airlines, Destinations ...
AirlinesDestinations
Aero K Cheongju[14]
Air Busan Busan, Seoul–Incheon[15]
Air Canada Seasonal: Vancouver (begins 18 December 2026)[16]
Air China Beijing–Capital
Air Do Fukuoka,[17] Kobe, Nagoya–Centrair, Sendai, Tokyo–Haneda
Air Seoul Seoul–Incheon
AirAsia X Seasonal: Kuala Lumpur–International[18]
All Nippon Airways Fukuoka, Kobe, Komatsu, Osaka–Itami, Osaka–Kansai, Tokyo–Haneda, Tokyo–Narita[19]
ANA Wings Akita, Aomori, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Hakodate, Hiroshima, Kushiro, Memanbetsu, Nagoya–Centrair, Nakashibetsu, Niigata, Osaka–Itami, Osaka–Kansai, Sendai, Shizuoka, Toyama, Wakkanai
Seasonal: Okayama, Rishiri
Asiana Airlines Seoul–Incheon[20][21]
Beijing Capital Airlines Beijing–Daxing[22]
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong[23][24]
Cebu Pacific Manila[25]
China Airlines Taipei–Taoyuan[26]
China Eastern Airlines Shanghai–Pudong[27]
Eastar Jet Busan,[28] Seoul–Incheon[29]
EVA Air Taipei–Taoyuan[26]
Fuji Dream Airlines Fukuoka,[30] Matsumoto, Niigata,[30] Shizuoka, Yamagata
Greater Bay Airlines Hong Kong[31]
Hainan Airlines Xi'an[32]
Hong Kong Airlines Hong Kong[23]
Ibex Airlines Sendai
J-Air Aomori, Hanamaki, Hiroshima, Memanbetsu, Osaka–Itami, Sendai
Japan Airlines Fukuoka, Nagoya–Centrair, Osaka–Itami, Osaka–Kansai, Tokyo–Haneda
Jeju Air Busan, Seoul–Incheon
Jetstar Japan Nagoya–Centrair, Osaka–Kansai, Tokyo–Narita
Jin Air Busan,[33] Seoul–Incheon
Juneyao Air Shanghai–Pudong[34]
Korean Air Seoul–Incheon[20]
Peach Fukuoka,[35] Nagoya–Centrair,[36] Naha,[37] Osaka–Kansai, Sendai,[38] Tokyo–Narita
Philippine Airlines Seasonal: Manila[39]
Qantas Seasonal: Sydney[40]
Scoot Singapore,[41] Taipei–Taoyuan[41][42]
Shenzhen Airlines Shenzhen[43]
Sichuan Airlines Chengdu–Tianfu[44][45]
Singapore Airlines Seasonal: Singapore[46]
Skymark Airlines Fukuoka, Ibaraki, Kobe, Nagoya–Centrair, Tokyo–Haneda
Spring Airlines Shanghai–Pudong
Spring Airlines Japan Tokyo–Narita
Starlux Airlines Taipei–Taoyuan[26][47]
T'way Air Busan,[48] Daegu, Seoul–Incheon[49]
Thai AirAsia Chiang Mai,[50] Taipei–Taoyuan[51]
Thai AirAsia X Bangkok–Don Mueang[52]
Thai Airways International Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi[52][53]
Thai Lion Air Bangkok–Don Mueang, Kaohsiung[54]
Thai VietJet Air Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi,[52] Taipei–Taoyuan[26][55]
Tigerair Taiwan Kaohsiung,[56] Taipei–Taoyuan[26][57]
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Cargo

More information Airlines, Destinations ...
AirlinesDestinations
AirZeta Seoul–Incheon[58]
ANA Cargo Tokyo–Narita[citation needed]
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Statistics

PassengersYear6,000,0009,000,00012,000,00015,000,00018,000,00021,000,00024,000,00027,000,000198019902000201020202030PassengersAnnual passenger traffic

Other facilities

The domestic terminal contains a hot spa, a cinema complex, museums, and a 188-room hotel, the Air Terminal Hotel.[59]

The international terminal is also equipped with a luxury hotel, the Hotel Portom International.

China Airlines operates its Sapporo office on the third floor of the airport building.[60]

The airline Hokkaido Air System was at one time headquartered in the New Chitose airport terminal.[61] Now its head office is on the property of Okadama Airport in Higashi-ku, Sapporo.[62]

Ground transportation

New Chitose Airport Station

Railways

New Chitose Airport Station is located on a spur off the Chitose Line of Hokkaido Railway Company (JR Hokkaido). The fastest time to Sapporo Station is 37 minutes on the Rapid Airport Service Trains, and the fastest time to Otaru Station is 73 minutes.[63] Due to the ever-increasing number of passengers, trains to Sapporo Station are becoming seriously crowded.

Bus

References

External links

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