Local airports are struggling to deal with sharp drops in their passenger numbers due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Domestic flights are gradually being resumed, but it is expected to take some time to return to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, international flights remain suspended due to the government's restrictions on entry into and departure from Japan.
The National Governors' Association is calling on the central government to extend a helping hand to local airports.
--Passengers down 92%
Thermographic checks to ascertain whether travelers have a fever -- part of measures to deal with the novel coronavirus -- began June 16 in the domestic departure lobby of Sendai Airport. The 56 daily domestic flights from Sendai Airport are gradually starting up again, but according to Katsuhiko Okazaki, the chief officer of the Sales Depelopment Unit of airport operator Sendai International Airport Co.: "We have mostly business passengers, with almost no tourists. The current situation can't be compared to the one before the coronavirus pandemic."
In July 2016, Sendai Airport became the country's first privatized airport formerly operated by the central government. Since then the company has vigorously promoted the inauguration of new services and increased flights on both domestic and international routes. In fiscal 2019 it reached a total of 3.71 million passengers (preliminary figure), setting a new record for the third straight fiscal year.
Due to the impact of the new coronavirus, however, all 27 of the international flights per week from Sendai to such destinations as Taipei and Dalian, China, were suspended. It saw only about 26,000 passengers in May, down 92% from a year earlier.
Eyeing the resumption of international flights, Sendai International Airport is considering developing a system to conduct PCR testing at a quarantine station within the airport, as Narita Airport and others do. Okazaki said, "We will strive to make such efforts, with the sense of speed that also characterizes a private company, so we can first and foremost appeal to our passengers with the safety and reassuring nature of our services."
--Turnaround from record highs
Ibaraki Airport opened in 2010 and has actively invited low-cost carriers, seeing a record high of about 820,000 passengers at the airport in 2019. But since February this year, it has one by one suspended its 10 routes -- six international routes connecting Ibaraki with key cities in mainland China and Taiwan, and four domestic routes. From May 2, there were no flights at all.
All its domestic routes have since been resumed, but the number of flights to and from Kobe and Sapporo remains lower than before the spread of infections. According to an official of the section responsible for airport-related measures in the Ibaraki prefectural government, "It is difficult to say when international flights could resume, as entry and departure restrictions continue."
Hajime Tozaki, a professor at J.F. Oberlin University and a scholar of aviation policy, said, "Japanese airports also have to free themselves from their dependence on Asia as foreign destinations." Tozaki was involved with efforts to choose a nickname for Ibaraki Airport that would appeal to foreign tourists.
Niigata Airport had set a target of reaching 1.35 million users in fiscal 2020, conducting a publicity campaign to attract holidaymakers from the Asian region, mainly from China, to Niigata ski resorts. However, by March its five international flight services had either been suspended, or postponed before their scheduled launch.
There were 9,801 passengers at Niigata Airport in April, down 90.2% from a year earlier, and 5,356 in May, down 95.1%. An official in the airport section of the Niigata prefectural government said with disappointment, "It will be difficult to achieve our target."
The National Governors' Association in June compiled a proposal and requests in connection with the central government's policies and the budget for next fiscal year. In them, the association asked the government to vigorously implement policies that would help aviation networks make an early recovery, and to extend support for maintaining flight routes, as a number of international flights at local airports have been suspended or reduced.
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