Japan's 98th airport opens with only one flight

(AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS)

Japan's newest airport opened outside Tokyo Thursday aiming to lure budget airlines, but there was deep scepticism about its profitability as it has only one scheduled daily flight so far.

Ibaraki Airport, about 80 kilometres (50 miles) northeast of Tokyo, began operations as the country's 98th airport and is meant to boost the local economy as a gateway for business passengers and foreign tourists.

But the new terminal is already expecting an annual loss of 20 million yen (221,000 dollars), with one daily Asiana Airlines flight to Seoul.

Another regular flight by Skymark Airlines to the western Japanese city of Kobe is not expected to start until April.

Ibaraki Governor Masaru Hashimoto said his prefecture would continue to approach low cost carriers (LCCs), now rare in Japan, to use the airport as an alternative destination for the greater Tokyo area.

"LCC is a segment that is expected to grow, and Ibaraki Airport will be the only airport to seriously work with them," Hashimoto said at the opening ceremony. "We will make sure that this will grow as a major airport."

Officials say the airport's compact and no-frills design and low landing fees should attract budget carriers.

Aircraft pull up next to the terminal, which has no boarding bridges, and passengers have to walk across the tarmac to their planes.

But local media unanimously characterised the opening as a "difficult" and "uncertain" start, making puns about the "low visibility" for business success.

The 22-billion-yen facility, part of which will be used by the Air Self-Defence Force, opened at an tough time for the aviation sector.

Many have questioned the business rationale for the airport, which is more remote than the huge and convenient Haneda airport in the south of the capital and Narita airport, Japan's main international gateway.

Japan's top carriers, troubled Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA), have refused to use the airport amid efforts to cut loss-making routes.

JAL failed in part because it was forced by the government to fly unprofitable routes to remote airports.

Japan has built many highways, bridges, airports and other infrastructure mainly to stimulate local economies through construction projects, leaving much of the country littered with "white elephant" projects.

The transport ministry this week reported that only eight airports in Japan attracted more travellers than their estimates for fiscal 2008, with some local airports drawing less than 20 percent of their projected users.

Ibaraki was forecast to attract 810,000 users annually with regular domestic flights but now only 200,000 travellers are expected to use it.

Transport Minister Seiji Maehara said this week he expected Ibaraki officials to operate the airport on their own with little government help.

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