The preliminary figure for the number of passengers at Fukuoka Airport in Fukuoka city in fiscal 2018 is expected to reach about 24.84 million, hitting a record high for the 5th consecutive year.
The most recent final figure available for fiscal 2018 is about 22.56 million for the 11 months from April through February, while the preliminary figure for March came to about 2.27 million, according to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism Ministry's West Japan Civil Aviation Bureau in Osaka. The total number of passengers in fiscal 2018 is therefore expected to surpass that of fiscal 2017's 23.98 million.
The number of international passengers has more than doubled from 5 years ago to about 6.92 million in fiscal 2018. The increase in the number of foreign tourists is believed to be a major factor.
The airport was used by a then-record about 20 million people in fiscal 2014, and the number of passengers has increased every year since.
In fiscal 2018, Fukuoka ranked fourth in the number of passengers among airports in Japan after Haneda, Narita and Kansai. Among them, Fukuoka is the only airport with only one runway, and congestion has been a serious problem.
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