The Tokyo metropolitan government is planning to use aircraft that can take off and land vertically and thus use shorter runways for an airport on Chichijima island, part of the Ogasawara Islands World Natural Heritage site, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned.
The use of tilt-rotor aircraft can halve the planned length of the runway to about 500 meters, reducing the adverse impact on the environment. The metropolitan government aims to strengthen tourism, emergency medical responses and reduction of disaster risks with the planned airport.
UNESCO registered the Ogasawara Islands as a World Natural Heritage site in 2011 for its rich nature and they are often referred to as "the Galapagos of the East."
The metropolitan government, which aims to open the airport in about 10 years at the earliest, will soon start creating detailed construction and operation plans.
According to sources, the metropolitan government's draft stipulates the use of aircraft being developed by an Italian aircraft maker. The aircraft has rotary wings, similar to those on the Osprey transport plane operated by the U.S. military. Traveling at a speed of about 500 kph, it will be able to carry up to nine passengers between Chichijima island and the mainland in about two hours one way.
The initial cost is expected to be about 60 billion yen, less than half of the original plan. The one-way airfare is estimated to be more than 200,000, yen and a discount for locals is also being considered.
The metropolitan government plans to hold a meeting with local governments, residents and other people on Friday to present the new aircraft idea.
"We want to push ahead with the plan as soon as possible as a measure to proactively enhance the charm of Tokyo," Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.
There is no private airport on the Ogasawara Islands, which are about 1,000 kilometers from the mainland; all it has is an airfield that belongs to the Self-Defense Forces on Iwojima island. The only transportation method available for regular people is a ship operating once every six days.
The metropolitan government had considered building an airport in the Ogasawara Islands in the past. But the project was aborted after it was discovered that the construction of a runway 1,000 meters or longer would adversely affect the natural environment. Since fiscal 2019, the metropolitan government has worked on research and measurements with a view to constructing an airport in Chichijima island's Susaki district, which is outside the area designated as a World Heritage site.
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