is a joint civil-military public

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

in Matsushige,

Tokushima is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the nort ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, near the city of

. In addition to scheduled passenger operations, the airport is the base of the

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force , abbreviated , also simply known as the Japanese Navy, is the maritime warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, tasked with the naval defense of Japan. The JMSDF was formed following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJ ...

Tokushima Air Training Group of 202nd Naval Air Training Squadron equipped with Beechcraft TC-90. There are also

UH-60J The Mitsubishi H-60 series is twin- turboshaft engine helicopter based on the Sikorsky S-70 helicopter family for use by the Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF). The SH-60J/K/L are anti-submarine patrol versions for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense ...

Search and Rescue aircraft of one flight which detached from JMSDF 72 Squadron. As a result, it is the busiest airport in

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

by aircraft operations, with around 15,000 takeoffs and landings each year. The

Japan Ground Self-Defense Force The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

established the 14 Squadron flying at least two Fuji UH-1J and one Kawasaki OH-6D by mid-April 2010 at the airport.

History

Tokushima Airport opened as an

Imperial Japanese Navy The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...

air base in 1941. The current runway was completed in 1987; it was extended to , with projected completion in 2010. The airport has had scheduled service to

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

(1997–98),

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

(briefly in 2000), and Osaka/Itami (until 2003). There are 12 scheduled flights per day. On April 13, 2006, Skymark Airlines discontinued its flights to Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) leaving

Japan Airlines , also known as JAL (''Jaru'') or , is an international airline and Japan's flag carrier and largest airline as of 2021 and 2022, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, as w ...

as the sole carrier to Tokyo. In response to Skymark's exit, Japan Airlines increased the number of flights between the two cities. Since Tokyo-Haneda opened its fourth runway,

All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...

announced the resumption of service to Tokyo. A new passenger terminal opened in the first quarter of 2010. An international terminal facility with a dedicated boarding bridge and waiting area opened in January 2018, mainly to accommodate charter flights from China. ShinMaywa Industries, Ltd. maintains a plant (primarily aircraft modification and refurbishment) at the airport. The plant also provides components for the

Gulfstream G550 The Gulfstream G550 is a business jet aircraft produced by General Dynamics' Gulfstream Aerospace unit in Savannah, Georgia, US. The certification designation is GV-SP. A version with reduced fuel capacity was marketed as the G500. Gulfstre ...

V-SPand Kawasaki P-1.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Accidents and Incidents

*On April 5th, 2015,

Flight 455, a Boeing 767-346 carrying 67 passengers and crews, was forced to initiate a

Go-around In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for various reasons, such as an unsta ...

after touching down as the pilot noticed there was a vehicle inside the runway. Investigations by the

Japan Transport Safety Board The is Japan's authority for establishing transportation safety. It is a division of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). It is housed in the in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan. The agency formed on Octob ...

later revealed that the single air traffic controller of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force in charge at the time neglected protocols and allowed the vehicle on to the runway 10 minutes before he approved the landing of the 767.

References

External links

* {{authority control Airports in Japan Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force bases Japan Ground Self-Defense Force bases Transport in Tokushima Prefecture Buildings and structures in Tokushima Prefecture Airports established in 1941 1941 establishments in Japan