A new, five-story international terminal building and a fourth (2,500-meter) runway opened Oct. 21 at Tokyo's Haneda airport. On Oct. 31, regular international flights will resume there for the first time since 2002.
Haneda airport originally served as a hub for both domestic and international flights, but once Narita airport opened in 1978 the government pushed the policy of concentrating international flights there instead. The Hatoyama administration reversed this policy — a move that will be welcomed by passengers tired of the time and expense it takes to travel to and from Narita from Tokyo and beyond.
Airline and airport companies as well as the government must prepare for the upcoming deregulation of international flights and the entry of low-cost carriers into the market. Haneda now handles domestic flights and offers chartered flights to and from Seoul, Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.