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The number of takeoffs and landings at Narita International Airport surpassed 5 million on Tuesday.
At 11 a.m., JAL Flight 413, bound for Helsinki in Finland, brought the tally of takeoffs and landings to 5 million. The plane's captain was given a bouquet of flowers at the departure gate prior to take-off. All 137 passengers also received a gift.
The number of flights in and out of Narita is expected to increase at a rapid pace now that a new terminal entirely dedicated to low-cost carriers has opened.
The airport opened in 1978 and was for two decades a battleground between riot police and farmers and radical groups opposing the government taking their land. In recent years, things have quietened down.
© Japan Today
8 Comments
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TrevorPeace
And it was the happy ending to an airborne birth, recently! Like it or hate it, Narita serves a good purpose, and I'll continue to use it to go back and forth from the west coast of Canada.
some14some
It's alright...now i look forward to 5,000,001 (!)
Moonraker
Curious that it was JAL, eh? Especially when its scheduled take-off time was 10:30, not 11:00. With the gift-giving and all, it sounds suspiciously planned. Did it make national news?
JeffLee
Narita is a lot better now than in the old days. I remember sitting with other passengers on the floor waiting for a flight, as all the seats were taken up! And having to take 4 commuter trains from central Tokyo to get there as the skyliner would book up well advance. The single terminal was like a bus terminal, the single runway the LA highway on Memorial Day.
People and international organizations complained, prompting the improvements, a bunch of NWA pilots in an Osaka bar once told me. It often pays to complain in Japan.
warispeace
Then there are the huge number of cargo ships that flow in and out, and people in Japan like to think of this country as an isolated island nation.
Austin Huang
I'm excited to go to Narita Airport on July 29th!
wtfjapan
Japan like to think of this country as an isolated island nation. in terms of trade no, in terms of foreign acceptance in both culture, ideas & immigration.... absolutely
ShotenGuy
Is this news? Who cares?