The Airport Island: The Story Of Osaka Kansai International Airport
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ก.ย. 2020
- Osaka Kansai airport is located on an artificial island in Osaka Bay and opened in 1994 and was expanded in 2007.
As you can imagine, construction was no easy task. Two mountains were flattened to build the island, and, according to the Institution of Civil Engineers, at the time of its completion, it was the most expensive civil engineering project to date.
Despite some incredible engineering successes, and proven ability to withstand earthquakes and typhoons, issues are now appearing. Notably, the island is sinking faster than expected, leading to increasing problems with flooding.
Let’s take a look at the background, construction, operation, and plans for this unique airport.
Article link: simpleflying.com/osaka-kansai...
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Satellite/Map footage and time-lapse courtesy of GoogleEarth/GoogleEarth Studio
A320 Jetstar Kansai • Jetstar★ GK108 JA01JJ ...
747F UPS Kansai • N573UP Landing Boeing ...
A330 Finnair Kansai • Finnair OH-LTM Airbus ...
Kansai Airport • kixlerning
Lufthansa 747-400 Kansai • D-ABVH takeoff!!! Luft...
777-300 Qatar Airways Kansai • Video
Concorde Air France Kansai • 関西国際空港（KIX）1994.9.5-1コ...
A340-300 Air China • Air China B-2389 Airbu...
777-200LR Air India • Air India VT-ALC takeo...
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For a moment I thought I was on B1M channel. This was really nice.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Flown into Kansai airport more than 25 times, always a great and exciting experience and legendary Japanese hospitality and customer service.
One of my favorite airports in the world! Not just because it's cool for engineering reasons but because the design , staff, and food options (mostly before going through security) are fantastic!
I agree. There’s this shop where you basically pick out whatever you want, which are already made ready to eat and pay. If I don’t eat there before departure from Kansai, I feel very strange.
Oh yes, the food is very good and fresh.
@Stop Deleting My Accounts TH-cam are you talking to me? I have photographic evidence to prove that I’ve been there on *multiple* occasions.
Thank you❤️
Thank you❤️
I'd say it was a necessity to build this on an artificial island. There was obviously no other solution with Osaka being so densely populated. Gotta hand it to the Japanese. They can create anything it seems.
The train go straight from Osaka Station to the Airport is awesome. The train station is also one of the best.
While working for JAL I was lucky enough to be invited into the cockpit on a Tokyo KIX flight. The captain was a 747-400 training captain and pointed out landmarks during the flight and then of course landing. Great memory
It is interesting to contrast the different routes Tokyo and Osaka took in building a second airport. Osaka wanted to avoid the forceful seizure of land that Tokyo did with Narita. Thus Osaka opted for an offshore island. Tokyo has since pivoted and further developed Haneda as expansion at Narita is hampered by opposition. Narita is also rather far from Tokyo (it is actually located in nearby Chiba prefecture) and the amount of flights is constrained by the fact that the the airport is closed from midnight to 0600.
Kansai is an engineering marvel. But unless they can solve the issue with it sinking, there is a possibility that the Kansai region will need a new second airport in about half a century from now. Or perhaps the solution is in Nagoya's nearby Chubu Centrair International Airport (another airport on an artificial island but isn't sinking). It already takes about an hour by train to get from Osaka Station to Kansai. To get from Osaka Station to Chubu Centrair International takes about 2 hours. A gap that can easily be closed with direct shinkansens.
That is a very interesting point contrasting the two cities that I've never thought about before! Osaka/KIX definitely have some more room for expansion (being on an island and all) while Tokyo might be less so - Haneda because of its proximity to the city itself (like the recent resident opposition to the modified approach route trial) and Narita because of the various things like you said. Tokyo might need to think of more ways to expand since IIRC both Haneda and Narita is almost at capacity; at least to prepare when traffic growth came back to pre-covid levels.
@@timmyZert Tokyo's capacity issues stems from political roadblocks and movement inefficiencies of the existing runways. While there are oppositions from residents due to noise complaints, I don't think the Tokyo government will relent as the show stopper was U.S. restrictions over airspace west of Tokyo due to Yokota Air Base (headquarters of U.S. Forces Japan). The new flight routes were only made possible after the U.S. agreed to let commercial flights pass through the airspace. Noise can be reduced as airline fleets are upgraded to newer aircraft with less noisy engines. Rather I think the main issue at Haneda will be its steeper descent of 3.45 degree versus the usual 3.0 which increases the risk of tail strikes.
Both Haneda and Narita are mulling additional runways. Runway 4 at Haneda is offshore built on reclaimed land and a fifth is expected in order for Tokyo to meet its tourism demands by 2030. So this is where HND has an advantage over KIX, as Haneda runs along the shore of Tokyo Bay and thus has the option to expand into the bay while remaining connected and stabilized to land. Osaka still needs to figure out what to do with KIX as it sinks quicker than anticipated. So unless they stabilize the island, expansion seems unlikely. Especially as the pair of Tokyo airports manage the lion's share of air traffic (~60%). Though I suppose Osaka could acknowledge that they made a mistake by trying to save money on an already expensive project and utilizing the bare minimum requirements (which put KIX in this predicament) and invest in a complete rebuild of KIX to address the sinking issue once and for all.
Expansion at Itami is pretty much not even on the table considering how difficult it was for Narita (which has faced guerilla resistance throughout its existence). That was coming from rural farming communities so just imagine the opposition from the densely populated communities surrounding Itami. Yet Narita is considering the construction of a third runway and expansion of runway two. Though I still feel the solution is that Osaka and Nagoya should set aside their rivalry and work together to develop a dual airport solution for the Kansai and Chubu regions who handle less than that of Tokyo in regards to the air traffic coming in and out of Japan.
Lastly, Tokyo has one ace in her future in that use of a third airport within the Kanto plains is possible. As recently as the now delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Japanese officials eyed Yokota Air Base for handling additional flights during the even. In 2011 during the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, several civilian aircraft were diverted from Narita to Yokota. Even before that in 2003, there was a U.S.-Japanese summit to consider joint military and civilian use of Yokota and the concept was included in a 2006 realignment roadmap. Though it has yet to move forward. Rather the U.S. agreed to allow commercial flights over the U.S. controlled airspace surrounding Yokota.
I've flown through both ITM and KIX a number of times. KIX is one of the better airports I've been to, much better then almost every port I've seen in Europe and North America.
Nice!
you should also look at Hong kong intl too for airport island, surviving through multiple typhoons and building a new runway soon~
@@MrDocDamage there are man made islands bellow sea level?
But it was built out of 2 islands that where made into one
The Hong Kong airport is actually built on two existing islands by expanding the islands through land reclamation. The new runway also has a serious problem that the airspace is conflicting with nearby airports.
幾百億嘅第3條跑道👍
@@dxelson Flevoland in the Netherlands ?
Actually, most newer Japanese airports are mostly located in a reclamed island. Tokyo Haneda Airport is also technically an island airport, but most people don't realized it because the water separating it with the Tokyo mainland is more of a river than a bay. Newer Japanese airports such as Kansai (Osaka), Chubu Centrair (Nagoya), Kobe, and New Kitakyushu were built on artificial islands due to noise complaints. Nagasaki and Haneda is pretty much the oldest island airports with Nagasaki being the first one opening in 1975
I flew through it once and was very impressed ; the staff was very helpful .
The airport was an excellent idea in a country with land issues, and was a beautiful terminal. I've flown out of there (and was going to this year, but Pandemic) and it was probably the largest and best looking airport I had been too. Its way better than Dubai, which in places is tight and feels like a mega-mall. The problem was that the engineers took the cheap route. Had they hadn't the airport would be in danger.
Very informative video, however each time he says 'Kobe' I just crack up laughing. 😂🤣😂 I'm looking forward to future videos.
Thanks! We'll pronounce Kobe correctly next time 😂
What minute?
@@rebelwithoutacause9285 1:59
Kobe Bryant
This is awesome! Great job
Thanks! :D
Thank you my friend!
You're most welcome!
I wish I had known all of this when I flew through there several years back. I will say that I was impressed with how easy it was to get through passport control and back. I made a 23 minute connection
Japanese are baffled by strict passport checks at overseas airports, especially in USA, China
@@user-os4xv2mf8b I heard the Japanese passport is one of the most powerful travel documents in Asia and the world.
@@emilio2647 It's true that Japanese passport gives me access to over 190 countries, but the time it takes to get through immigration is the same as yours...!
@@user-os4xv2mf8b I agree with you. I'm a Bahamian national and my passport gives me visa free access to 151 countries around the world but I must admit that going throw US customs is a hassle.
Wow I never known this interesting video
Thanks for watching!
I visited both Kansai and Itami multiple times. Love both airports. Very easy to navigate through.
Unfortunately, Terminal 1(airstrip A) has sank 4 meters after completion. Terminal 2 (airstrip B) also sank 5 meters after completion.
Even now, it is sinking more than 10 centimeters every year.
This is actually one of the best explanations of the airport's history I've seen in one place.
I think this can be done as series with the stories of different airport . This is same as Hongkong where they built new airport in the middle of the sea..
Nice video hoping there will be a video on construction of airport in hongkong ..
Loved it much ❤️❤️
Thanks for your input - something we'll take into consideration!
HKG is built by expanding existing natural islands, but still interesting story.
Incheon airport too. Albeit it is very near to North Korea border.
What about Gibraltar airport???
@@Ananth8193 it's initially build on land, with some land reclamation for longer runways.
Excellent video and topic. I replayed the time-lapse footage you provided to see the creation of the island for Kobe airport too!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you.
Good job & amazyng 👍
Greetings from Kefamenanu City-Timor Island-Indonesia.
This is an amazing video :)
Thanks! We're glad you liked it!
A Great Video!
Thanks for watching!
Fantastic Kansai International Airport In Osaka Japan
It was a great Idea! Will land here soon!
I’ve flown from here and i like it so much osaka kansai (kix) airport
I lived in Osaka for two years love this airport
An engineering master piece that might end up in premium tears
Amazing vid ❤️
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Flew home from there mid march and I would ve loved to know these thins then. Nevertheless it is amazingly efficient. Fast handling and super short ways.
Thanks for an excellent video. Hope to see similar videos more. I was wondering, how come India did not consider building island airports for its crowded cities i.e. Mumbai, Panaji, Mangalore & Calicut. Considering, the 2 air-crashes at Mangalore & Calicut recently on table top airports, island airports would be a better alternative.
Amazing
Always
Hey is simple flying and long haul run by same people
And voice??
yes
Yup! Thanks for watching both channels!
@@LongHaulbySimpleFlying welcome thanks
9:00 I was in the kansai region as a tourist at the time. I was scheduled to fly back to Bangkok on the 6th of September from kansai, nope we got rebooked to Nagoya.
1:37 JA8119 B747SR which down at Mt.Osutaka which killed 520・・・
Good !!!
Beautiful airport, great and amazing engineering . Please safe the airport, if possible increase the wall around the airport by rocks and stones. Don't let it sink . Everything is possible to save this wonderful airport . Greetings from The Netherlands
Nice airport :)
I have been there and its one of the best and most efficient airports on Earth.
I wish you could have spoken more about this seawall. It seems to be the most critical part of the project.
The ride on Haruka express from Kyoto to Kansai airport is awesome
Wow Amazing Japanese Engineering ways!
I randomly found this location on Google Maps. Really interesting location!
hey im pretty early but im going to watch the video now ok bye
edit: yeah video was pretty cool
Hope you liked it!
@@LongHaulbySimpleFlying Thank you!
It was a good idea
Fond memory of a stopover there between Paris and Noumea, the lounge offered the most exquisite onigiri !
I flew out of Kansai several years ago to Beijing. We overnighted at the Nikko across from the terminal. It's a spectacular building. Excellent rail service direct to the airport.
Ok?r
Ok?r
Nice video!
Thank you!
Just a question. You already have a video covering Kai Tak on the main channel, but I'd like a bit more in-depth look at the airport on Long Haul. Would it be possible to do a video on Kai Tak here, covering the airport in more detail?
Long Haul by Simple flying is really creating such great and interesting videos. Its baffling that it only has 18,0000 subscribers! Thanks for the great content!
Thanks Gustav! This Long Haul channel is new - just a few months old. But we are close to 100,000 subs on our main channel, so that's exciting :D
@@LongHaulbySimpleFlying And its well deserved! I watch the main channel as well and also listen to the podcast after you informed about it in a video a while ago. Keep up the great work
The best
Ive just flown there on January
I always fly into Kansai wearing my swim trunks and my floaties fully inflated around my arms.... just in case it's below water!! 🤣🤣🤣
The plane at 1:38, JA8119, is THE plane to crash on Aug. 12, 1985, as JAL123.
1:39 The image is the Boeing 747 involved in JAL flight 123 crash.
(look at the registration)
😭😭
Please don’t say that many lives were lost 😔
@@RectrixForest ... in that case, you don't want to know.
Aku ingin kesini!
Ohh damn 😲😲😲😲
Cool thing is some A380's went to this airport handling the largest quad jet ever made at 560 tons.
That's just insane that they built an island
China is also building artificial islands lol
Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Airport (VHHH)is also Island Airport, but it is built on a small existing flatten island.
Enzo Piano designed one office building at Potsdamer Platz, which is the name of a square and the whole wider area around it. What you showed in the Video, was mostly Sony Center, which is owned by the Korean pension fund these days.
Hi Stefan - thanks for clarifying!
You guys should do a documentary about Memphis international
Anyone else messing around in Microsoft Flight Sim and saw this weird island and wanted to look it up 😅
I landed here a couple years back on my holiday to japan. We flew in at night so we couldn't see the runway, just the water, so i thought we were going for a water landing and got scared lmfao.
Would have thought they would only build the runways in the bay and securely shuttle baggage and passengers from processing centres on the mainland. I’m sure they considered that I just can’t see a downside.
Osaka Kansai is pretty good
Great idea ,just needs a bit more engineering before they start another
Actually they already built 4 more off-shore airports, Chubu being the largest one (in my case also my favorite airport)...
Can you make a video on HKG?
I should have experienced KIX already, but the 2018 typhoon cancelled my flight and diverted me to NGO ...
Sorry to hear that! Hopefully you'll get to, sometime in the future.
but wait... Nagoya is just as great as Kansai, isn't it?... Ok it's not "the legendary first be off-shore" but still...
@@kleeblattchen38 NGO is amazing especially with its plane-spotting attic and I like it. But just imagine compressing several days of cancelled flights from KIX all into NGO lol... I can still remember the crowd literally started right after I got off the airport express train.
@@oliverhe9753 well yeah... but obviously thats not the usual experience you'd get at Chubu...
His voice sounded like an automated voice at the start, lmao
Pretty much all new airports located in coastal cities are build on reclaimed land
Sink Rate!
Do Japan's other floating airports share the same sinking concerns?
I live in Osaka.
The location is not ideal, but I think there is no other way.
After the chaos regarding land appropriation during construction of Narita Airport, no one in Japan would think of evicting people to build an airport again.
Having it near Kobe will be a lot better though, similar access time from Osaka city center, but it will also benefit the economy of Kobe.
I think the Kobe city government is really short-sighted in rejecting the airport in the first place.
Kobe eventually build another airport on another artificial island, but it is underutilised since it is domestic-only.
I'm curious. Are Kobe officials and residents regretted the desicion not to build the airport (the Kansai one) in their area?
@@risannd Apparently yes. After rejecting it at first they changed their mind, but by that point the location of the airport has already been decided. As a compromise the smaller Kobe Airport was built instead.
@@hcguyz instead of spending money on Kobe airport...why not just channel it to build faster connection to KIX? Like ferry or even bridge/tunnel. It would consolidate and enhance transportation sector in Kansai region even further and provide serious competition to Kanto region.
@@guyfromkk There is a ferry from Kobe to KIX actually. Kobe airport was build primarily to prop up the economy that was damaged by the 1995 earthquake, and it was thought that there would be enough demand to support both airport. Only as Japan's economy slowed down in the early 2000s that it became obvious that Kobe airport was an excess.
Nagasaki airport is also on a island 😉
Don't forget Nagoya chubu centrair airport too
271st viewer
Would do Haneda or Narita next
Good video but you should do detailed history videos on boeing/ airbus aircraft
Thanks Riley - it's on the list. Look out for an in-depth history piece in the coming weeks :)
we was gonna go here on april 2020 but got cancelled bc of the pandemic :((
Kansai International Airport is by far the option with the least contingencies to deal with as opposed to other proposed locations. Japan, particularly Kobe, simply has no other better choice dealing with their economic problems. Just my opinion though, I have yet to know the perspective from Japanese people themselves. Regardless, it has still brought many benefits to a lot of people, not just the economy.
Flatten a mountain and put a high speed train
Kansai International Airport was so easy to navigate. I was able to get through security, get my luggage, buy an IC card (ICOCA). Get at ticket for Haruka express train to Shin Osaka. It was so easy. I stayed one night at a hotel that was just a couple of blocks from the station. The next morning I was able to get on a Bullet Train to Fukuyama where I would stay at my brother’s Apartment for most of my trip. It’s completely opposite for my home Honolulu International Airport. It’s so confusing and it’s complete chaos. It’s also staff is not very good at handling large crowds and they are not very friendly either. There is always some local staff member yelling at the foreign tourists. They are not deaf, they don’t understand English ... morons.
Now It's sadly a Ghost 👻town airport do to Covid-19 freak-out😱 too bad hopefully they can re-coupe on all the lost tourism.
Sounds like a never ending money pit to me.....as cool as it is.
please use metric as subtitles
I can’t believe a city would reject an airport.
Things such as building an airport in Japan is quite controversial. It's pretty visible by seeing that most newer Japanese airports are located in the sea like the Kansai and Chubu
Flightlock 126 flying over a soccer Japan Osaka
JA8119 - Japan airlines flight 123
it's like an ant building a nest
2:36
The year I was born1987
Very informative video. Too bad the Japanese names were butchered:
Kansai = かんさい sounds more like conn-sai (not can-sai)
Kobe = こべ sounds more like coh-bay (not coby)
Tōkyō = とうきょう sounds more like toe-kyo (two syllables) with both Os with a longer sounds (instead of toe-key-oh, three syllables)... Still.. Like the video.
Thanks for the constructive and positive feedback! We'll work on the pronunciations. With all the international aviation news we cover, there are a lot of names to learn and get right.
JA8119 .......
Way better idea then the shitfest that is Narita and Heathrow!
10k dollars per landing? wow
Дьі Еирпоьрт Аилӑнд: Дьі Стоьрі ов О̄са̄́кӑ Кӓнсаи Интӑрнӓшонӑл Еирпоьрт
so... if they flattened two hills... why not make airport there?
@@whateverwhatever7465 surrounded mounts yes that might be problem... and im pretty sure those hills were made from stone so really not good farm land
1:38 JA8119.... Bruh
The ill-fated JAL123
Wow - good catch!