Osaka International Airport
Encyclopedia
or Osaka-Itami International Airport is the primary domestic airport
for the Kansai region of Japan
, including the major cities of Osaka
, Kyoto
, and Kobe
. It is classified as a first class airport.
The airport is often called because most of its land is located in Itami
, Hyōgo Prefecture
. The terminal complex is located in Toyonaka
, Osaka Prefecture
, and the only access from the Itami side is via a long tunnel that passes below the runway and apron. A portion of the airport property is in Ikeda, Osaka
.
Despite its "international" designation, the airport's scheduled passenger air traffic is entirely domestic. Kansai International Airport
(27 mi (43.5 km) away) took over Osaka's international traffic in 1994 and competes with Itami for domestic traffic. Itami also faces competition from Kobe Airport
(16 mi (25.7 km) away), a smaller domestic airport opened in 2006, nevertheless in FY2006 Itami was Japan's 3rd busiest airport and the Kansai region's busiest.
During 2005, this airport had 66,259 aircraft movements (32 cities). The total number of passengers was 18,948,300. Freight volume was at 154,412 metric tons total.
s which used an airport at the mouth of the Kizu River. In 1931, the Osaka municipal government drafted plans to construct a new "No. 1 Osaka Airport" near the mouth of the Yamato River, also targeted at seaplanes, but concerns about fog
and protests from Kobe-based businesses led the government to build the "No. 2 Airport" for land-based aircraft instead.
Construction began in July 1936 on a 53 ha site. The new airport was primarily used by the Imperial Japanese Army
during its early years. U.S. occupation forces took over Osaka Airport after the end of World War II in 1945, expanding it to 221 ha and renaming it Itami Air Base. The airfield was used extensively by US forces during the Korean War
. In 1954, Marilyn Monroe
and Joe DiMaggio
stopped at Itami during their honeymoon, and in 1956, the base was used in the filming of the movie Sayonara
.
Itami was renamed following its return to Japanese control in March 1959. The Japanese government quickly implemented a plan to expand the airport by an additional 82.5 ha so that it could accommodate jet aircraft
. Despite some protests from locals, the plan was approved by the neighboring city assemblies between 1960 and 1961 with strong backing from local business groups, and land was purchased between 1962 and 1964, in part out of the aviation industry's interest in keeping pace with the development of the Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed rail link between Tokyo and Osaka. The main runway was completed in 1970.
In its heyday Itami was served by a variety of major international carriers, including Pan Am
, United
, British Airways
, Air India
, Cathay Pacific and Korean Air
. Northwest Airlines
briefly operated a New York-Itami-Sydney
route in the early 1990s, which raised Japanese protest because less than 30% of passengers on the Australia-Japan segment were originating in the U.S.
A number of factors made the airport an intensely-debated political issue in the 1960s and 1970s, among them:
Jet flights at Itami began on June 1, 1964 and triggered complaints by neighboring residents about noise pollution
. In addition, eminent domain
procedures were used in 1966 to obtain land for the runway expansion at Itami and led to local protests, as had also been the case in the construction of Narita International Airport
near Tokyo.
In May 1968, a group of local citizens decided to sue the government for damages related to noise pollution from Itami Airport. The lawsuit was filed in December 1969. The Japanese government concurrently banned takeoffs and landings at Itami between 10:30 PM and 6:30 AM, effective February 1970.
In February 1974, the Osaka District Court issued a qualified ruling in favor of the plaintiffs which limited the scope of their damages. The plaintiffs appealed to the Osaka High Court, which ruled in November 1975 that the plaintiffs were entitled to both a wider scope of damages and an injunction
halting flights at the airport between 9 PM and 7 AM. This was a landmark decision in Japanese environmental law as it set a precedent for polluters to be enjoined and to be required to pay damages to victims. However, the state then appealed to the Supreme Court of Japan
, which deliberated for almost six years before ruling in 1981 that the High Court injunction was illegal (though the victims remained entitled to damages).
By the mid-1970s, the airport was subject to extensive slot restrictions, with operations limited to 200 jets and 170 propeller aircraft per day, and no takeoffs or landings allowed after 9 PM. These restrictions led the major domestic airlines to adopt more widebody aircraft in ultra-high-density configurations on Itami routes. The introduction of these widebodies caused additional concern among locals who protested the increased pollution and greater dangers in the event of a crash.
in 1994 on an artificial island in Osaka Bay
.
There were originally plans to close Itami Airport following the opening of Kansai, but nearby communities opposed such a move for economic reasons, so Itami was retained as a domestic-only airport after Kansai opened in 1994. The only international passenger flights to use Itami since 1994 have been in connection with state visit
s. Air Force One
visited Itami in November 2005, and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao
landed at Itami in April 2007. All Nippon Airways
retains a large maintenance base at Itami which occasionally services aircraft ferried in from overseas without passengers, and some international cargo flights continue to use the airport as well.
The Japanese government has taken further moves to limit operations at Itami in order to spur development at Kansai and Kobe. Commercial passenger aircraft with more than two engines were banned from Itami effective April 2006, although such aircraft may continue to make ferry flights to and from Itami for maintenance purposes. The government proposed changing Itami's status from first-class airport to second-class airport, which would saddle local governments with one-third of its operating costs; after protests from the surrounding local authorities, the national government withdrew this proposal. The government also proposed banning widebody aircraft from Itami, although this proposal was criticized as unrealistic given the volume of traffic there.
Since July 2008, Osaka Prefecture
governor Toru Hashimoto
has also been a vocal critic of the airport, arguing that the Chuo Shinkansen
maglev line will make much of its domestic role irrelevant, and that its domestic functions should be transferred to Kansai in conjunction with upgraded high-speed access to Kansai from central Osaka. In 2009, Hashimoto proposed closing Itami and converting the site into an "International Campus Freedom City" operating in the English language
with 20,000 residents; the governor of Hyogo Prefecture
, who advocated the resumption of international service at Itami, criticized the idea as "complete nonsense." Hashimoto later expressed support for Transport Minister Seiji Maehara
's plan to maintain Itami with further restrictions on the size of aircraft.
In May 2011, the Diet of Japan
passed legislation to form a new Kansai International Airport Corporation using the state's existing equity stake in Kansai Airport and its property holdings at Itami Airport. The move was aimed at offsetting Kansai Airport's debt burden.
There have been plans to connect the JR Takarazuka Line and Hankyu Takarazuka Line to Itami Airport, as well as to extend the monorail to central Itami, but these plans have never been realized. Hyōgo Prefecture is currently studying the feasibility of building a separate light rail
connection between the airport and central Itami, which would connect to the JR Takarazuka Line and possibly the Hankyu Itami Line
.
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
for the Kansai region of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, including the major cities of Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
, and Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
. It is classified as a first class airport.
The airport is often called because most of its land is located in Itami
Itami, Hyogo
is a city located in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.As of 2008, the city had an estimated population of 194,488 and a population density of 7,790 persons per km². The total area is 24.97 km².The center of Itami became a wealthy town by the middle of Sengoku period...
, Hyōgo Prefecture
Hyogo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...
. The terminal complex is located in Toyonaka
Toyonaka, Osaka
is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan.As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 388,633 and a population density of 10,680 persons per km². The total area is 36.38 km²...
, Osaka Prefecture
Osaka Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...
, and the only access from the Itami side is via a long tunnel that passes below the runway and apron. A portion of the airport property is in Ikeda, Osaka
Ikeda, Osaka
is a city located in Osaka, Japan. As of 2010, the city has an estimated population of 104,704 and a density of 4,740 persons per km². The total area is 22.09 km²....
.
Despite its "international" designation, the airport's scheduled passenger air traffic is entirely domestic. Kansai International Airport
Kansai International Airport
is an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano , Sennan , and Tajiri , in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The airport is off the Honshu shore. The airport serves as an...
(27 mi (43.5 km) away) took over Osaka's international traffic in 1994 and competes with Itami for domestic traffic. Itami also faces competition from Kobe Airport
Kobe Airport
is an airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, south of Sannomiya Station Japan. It primarily handles domestic flights, but can also accommodate international charter flights. In the first year of operation the airport handled 2,697,000 passengers with an average load factor of...
(16 mi (25.7 km) away), a smaller domestic airport opened in 2006, nevertheless in FY2006 Itami was Japan's 3rd busiest airport and the Kansai region's busiest.
During 2005, this airport had 66,259 aircraft movements (32 cities). The total number of passengers was 18,948,300. Freight volume was at 154,412 metric tons total.
History
Itami Airport opened as in 1939. Prior to the opening of Itami, Osaka was served by seaplaneSeaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
s which used an airport at the mouth of the Kizu River. In 1931, the Osaka municipal government drafted plans to construct a new "No. 1 Osaka Airport" near the mouth of the Yamato River, also targeted at seaplanes, but concerns about fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
and protests from Kobe-based businesses led the government to build the "No. 2 Airport" for land-based aircraft instead.
Construction began in July 1936 on a 53 ha site. The new airport was primarily used by the Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
during its early years. U.S. occupation forces took over Osaka Airport after the end of World War II in 1945, expanding it to 221 ha and renaming it Itami Air Base. The airfield was used extensively by US forces during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. In 1954, Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
and Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...
stopped at Itami during their honeymoon, and in 1956, the base was used in the filming of the movie Sayonara
Sayonara
Sayonara is a 1957 color American film starring Marlon Brando. It tells the story of an American Air Force flier who was an "ace" fighter pilot during the Korean War....
.
Itami was renamed following its return to Japanese control in March 1959. The Japanese government quickly implemented a plan to expand the airport by an additional 82.5 ha so that it could accommodate jet aircraft
Jet aircraft
A jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
. Despite some protests from locals, the plan was approved by the neighboring city assemblies between 1960 and 1961 with strong backing from local business groups, and land was purchased between 1962 and 1964, in part out of the aviation industry's interest in keeping pace with the development of the Tokaido Shinkansen high-speed rail link between Tokyo and Osaka. The main runway was completed in 1970.
In its heyday Itami was served by a variety of major international carriers, including Pan Am
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
, United
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
, British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
, Air India
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the government of India owned Air India Limited . The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India Building at Nariman...
, Cathay Pacific and Korean Air
Korean Air
Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. , operating as Korean Air, is both the flag carrier and the largest airline of South Korea, with global headquarters located in Seoul, South Korea. Korean Air's international passenger division and related subsidiary cargo division together serve 130 cities in 45...
. Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...
briefly operated a New York-Itami-Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
route in the early 1990s, which raised Japanese protest because less than 30% of passengers on the Australia-Japan segment were originating in the U.S.
Political friction
While Japan's economy was growing rapidly, the area around Itami Airport became an increasingly dense residential area for commuters to Osaka.A number of factors made the airport an intensely-debated political issue in the 1960s and 1970s, among them:
- The introduction of jet aircraftJet aircraftA jet aircraft is an aircraft propelled by jet engines. Jet aircraft generally fly much faster than propeller-powered aircraft and at higher altitudes – as high as . At these altitudes, jet engines achieve maximum efficiency over long distances. The engines in propeller-powered aircraft...
made noise and air pollution a growing concern among locals. - The United States Armed ForcesUnited States armed forcesThe United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
had rights to use Itami Airport for refueling and maintenance, and frequently sent military aircraft there for overhauls at the ShinMaywa Industries plant there. This activity caused consternation among locals who were opposed to the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Jet flights at Itami began on June 1, 1964 and triggered complaints by neighboring residents about noise pollution
Noise pollution
Noise pollution is excessive, displeasing human, animal or machine-created environmental noise that disrupts the activity or balance of human or animal life...
. In addition, eminent domain
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
procedures were used in 1966 to obtain land for the runway expansion at Itami and led to local protests, as had also been the case in the construction of Narita International Airport
Narita International Airport
is an international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan. It is located east of Tokyo Station and east-southeast of Narita Station in the city of Narita, and the adjacent town of Shibayama....
near Tokyo.
In May 1968, a group of local citizens decided to sue the government for damages related to noise pollution from Itami Airport. The lawsuit was filed in December 1969. The Japanese government concurrently banned takeoffs and landings at Itami between 10:30 PM and 6:30 AM, effective February 1970.
In February 1974, the Osaka District Court issued a qualified ruling in favor of the plaintiffs which limited the scope of their damages. The plaintiffs appealed to the Osaka High Court, which ruled in November 1975 that the plaintiffs were entitled to both a wider scope of damages and an injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
halting flights at the airport between 9 PM and 7 AM. This was a landmark decision in Japanese environmental law as it set a precedent for polluters to be enjoined and to be required to pay damages to victims. However, the state then appealed to the Supreme Court of Japan
Supreme Court of Japan
The Supreme Court of Japan , located in Chiyoda, Tokyo is the highest court in Japan. It has ultimate judicial authority to interpret the Japanese constitution and decide questions of national law...
, which deliberated for almost six years before ruling in 1981 that the High Court injunction was illegal (though the victims remained entitled to damages).
By the mid-1970s, the airport was subject to extensive slot restrictions, with operations limited to 200 jets and 170 propeller aircraft per day, and no takeoffs or landings allowed after 9 PM. These restrictions led the major domestic airlines to adopt more widebody aircraft in ultra-high-density configurations on Itami routes. The introduction of these widebodies caused additional concern among locals who protested the increased pollution and greater dangers in the event of a crash.
Domestic era
Because of the political friction surrounding Itami, planners began work in the 1970s to relocate many of its flights to an offshore location. This plan led to the opening of Kansai International AirportKansai International Airport
is an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, southwest of Ōsaka Station, located within three municipalities, including Izumisano , Sennan , and Tajiri , in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The airport is off the Honshu shore. The airport serves as an...
in 1994 on an artificial island in Osaka Bay
Osaka Bay
Osaka Bay is a bay in western Japan. As an eastern part of the Inland Sea, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Kii Channel and from the neighbor western part of the Inland Sea by the Akashi Strait...
.
There were originally plans to close Itami Airport following the opening of Kansai, but nearby communities opposed such a move for economic reasons, so Itami was retained as a domestic-only airport after Kansai opened in 1994. The only international passenger flights to use Itami since 1994 have been in connection with state visit
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
s. Air Force One
Air Force One
Air Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
visited Itami in November 2005, and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao
Wen Jiabao is the sixth and current Premier and Party secretary of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, serving as China's head of government and leading its cabinet. In his capacity as Premier, Wen is regarded as the leading figure behind China's economic policy...
landed at Itami in April 2007. All Nippon Airways
All Nippon Airways
, also known as or ANA, is one of the largest airlines in Japan. It is headquartered at the Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It operates services to 49 destinations in Japan and 35 international routes and employed over 14,000 employees as of May 2009...
retains a large maintenance base at Itami which occasionally services aircraft ferried in from overseas without passengers, and some international cargo flights continue to use the airport as well.
The Japanese government has taken further moves to limit operations at Itami in order to spur development at Kansai and Kobe. Commercial passenger aircraft with more than two engines were banned from Itami effective April 2006, although such aircraft may continue to make ferry flights to and from Itami for maintenance purposes. The government proposed changing Itami's status from first-class airport to second-class airport, which would saddle local governments with one-third of its operating costs; after protests from the surrounding local authorities, the national government withdrew this proposal. The government also proposed banning widebody aircraft from Itami, although this proposal was criticized as unrealistic given the volume of traffic there.
Since July 2008, Osaka Prefecture
Osaka Prefecture
is a prefecture located in the Kansai region on Honshū, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Osaka. It is the center of Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area.- History :...
governor Toru Hashimoto
Toru Hashimoto
is a Japanese lawyer and commentator on legal matters. He was the 52nd Governor of Osaka Prefecture and is the president of the Osaka Restoration Association...
has also been a vocal critic of the airport, arguing that the Chuo Shinkansen
Chuo Shinkansen
The is a planned maglev line connecting Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, Japan. The only part of the line that exists is the Yamanashi test track, which is currently being extended from 18.4 km to 42.8 km. The line is proposed to connect Tokyo and Nagoya in the first stage in 40 minutes, and eventually...
maglev line will make much of its domestic role irrelevant, and that its domestic functions should be transferred to Kansai in conjunction with upgraded high-speed access to Kansai from central Osaka. In 2009, Hashimoto proposed closing Itami and converting the site into an "International Campus Freedom City" operating in the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
with 20,000 residents; the governor of Hyogo Prefecture
Hyogo Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region on Honshū island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo.- History :...
, who advocated the resumption of international service at Itami, criticized the idea as "complete nonsense." Hashimoto later expressed support for Transport Minister Seiji Maehara
Seiji Maehara
is a Japanese politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives of Japan since 1993. He was the leader of the Democratic Party of Japan from 2005 to 2006, and later served as Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and Minister of Foreign Affairs under the cabinets...
's plan to maintain Itami with further restrictions on the size of aircraft.
In May 2011, the Diet of Japan
Diet of Japan
The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
passed legislation to form a new Kansai International Airport Corporation using the state's existing equity stake in Kansai Airport and its property holdings at Itami Airport. The move was aimed at offsetting Kansai Airport's debt burden.
Accidents and incidents
- 30 September 1957: Douglas DC-4Douglas DC-4The Douglas DC-4 is a four-engined propeller-driven airliner developed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It served during World War II, in the Berlin Airlift and into the 1960s in a military role...
JA6011 of Japan AirlinesJapan Airlinesis an airline headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan. It is the flag carrier of Japan and its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Tokyo International Airport , as well as Nagoya's Chūbu Centrair International Airport and Osaka's Kansai International Airport...
suffered a number one engine failure on takeoff and stalled, crash landing in a rice paddy in Toyonaka. Seven were injured. - 12 June 1961: Vickers ViscountVickers ViscountThe Vickers Viscount was a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs, making it the first such aircraft to enter service in the world...
G-APKJ of All Nippon AirwaysAll Nippon Airways, also known as or ANA, is one of the largest airlines in Japan. It is headquartered at the Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. It operates services to 49 destinations in Japan and 35 international routes and employed over 14,000 employees as of May 2009...
was damaged beyond economic repair when the starboard undercarriage collapsed following a heavy landing.
Terminals, airlines and destinations
Rail
The only direct rail connection to the airport is the Osaka Monorail, which stops in the northern suburbs of Osaka.There have been plans to connect the JR Takarazuka Line and Hankyu Takarazuka Line to Itami Airport, as well as to extend the monorail to central Itami, but these plans have never been realized. Hyōgo Prefecture is currently studying the feasibility of building a separate light rail
Light rail
Light rail or light rail transit is a form of urban rail public transportation that generally has a lower capacity and lower speed than heavy rail and metro systems, but higher capacity and higher speed than traditional street-running tram systems...
connection between the airport and central Itami, which would connect to the JR Takarazuka Line and possibly the Hankyu Itami Line
Hankyu Itami Line
The is a railway line of Hankyu Railway in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The line starts from Tsukaguchi Station in the city of Amagasaki and finishes at Itami Station in the city of Itami...
.