, also known as Komaki Airport or Nagoya Airport, is an

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

within the local government areas of Toyoyama, Komaki, Kasugai and

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

Aichi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Aichi Prefecture has a population of 7,461,111 () and a geographic area of with a population density of . Aichi Prefecture borders Mie Prefecture to the ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Prior to 2005 it was an international airport, but is now a domestic secondary airport serving Nagoya while the current primary civil airport for Nagoya is Chūbu Centrair International Airport in Tokoname. It is the main operating base for FDA ( Fuji Dream Airlines), the only

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

that offers scheduled air service from the airfield. It is also used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations except for commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services for other ...

and, by

Japan Self-Defense Forces The are the military forces of Japan. Established in 1954, the JSDF comprises the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. They are controlled by the Ministry of Defense ...

, as an airbase.

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation , abbreviated MITAC, was a Japanese company that developed, produced, sold and supported the Mitsubishi SpaceJet (formerly MRJ) passenger airliners. The manufacturing of the aircraft was planned to be carried out by parent company Mitsubishi He ...

is headquartered in the airport's terminal building, and its parent company

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the prede ...

produced the Mitsubishi Regional Jet aircraft at a factory adjacent to the airport.

Alternate names

* "Nagoya Airfield" is the name as the

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism The , abbreviated MLIT, is a ministry of the Japanese government.国土交通省設置法

of the national government, as of 2008, recognizes it as an " other airport". * The airfield was until the opening of Centrair on February 17, 2005. * It has been conventionally called . * Aichi Prefectural Government, the current owner of the airport, nicknames it . * The

shares the runway as a part of . The four Boeing KC-767J tankers of the 404th Tactical Airlift Tanker Squadron are based there.

History

Nagoya Airport served as the main airport for Nagoya until the opening of Chubu Centrair International Airport on February 17, 2005. This airport

IATA Airport Code An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a unique three-letter geocode designating many airports, cities (with one or more airports) and metropolitan areas (citie ...

used to be NGO (now overtaken by the new Centrair airport), and its

ICAO Airport Code The ICAO airport code or location indicator is a four-letter code designating aerodromes around the world. These codes, as defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization and published quarterly in ICAO Document 7910: ''Location Indic ...

used to be RJNN when it was classified as a second class airport; the new designations are NKM for regional flights and RJNA designation for general aviation flights. Aichi Prefecture manages the facilities and regularly handles international business flights. During the 1980s and early 1990s, Nagoya Airport was a busy international airport because of overflow from Japan's other international airports, New Tokyo International Airport (now

Narita International Airport , also known as Tokyo-Narita International Airport or simply Narita Airport, formerly and originally known as , is the secondary international airport serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the only other one being Haneda Airport (HND). It is about e ...

) near

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and

Osaka International Airport , often referred to as , is the primary domestic airport for the Kansai region of Japan, including its major cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is the airport closest to Osaka, being 11 km (7 mi) north of Ōsaka Station, Osaka Stati ...

(Itami Airport) near

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

. Since the opening of

Kansai International Airport Kansai International Airport (), commonly known as Kankū (; ), is the primary international airport in the Keihanshin, Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is located on ...

in 1994, the airport's main traffic source has been the nearby automotive and manufacturing industries, causing carriers such as

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois that operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and six ...

(San Francisco and Chicago–O'Hare) (United, as successor to

Continental Airlines Continental Airlines (simply known as Continental) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1934 until it merged with United Airlines in 2012. It had ownership interests and brand partnerships with several carriers. Continen ...

, currently serves Centrair Airport with flights to

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

) and

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

(Portland (OR)) (Delta, as successor to

Northwest Airlines Northwest Airlines (often abbreviated as NWA) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 until it Delta Air Lines–Northwest Airlines merger, merged with Delta Air Lines in 2010. The merger made Delta the largest airline ...

, currently serves Centrair Airport with flights to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

) to stop flying to Nagoya. Some discount holiday flights still operated from Nagoya, drawing passengers from the

Kansai region The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshū. The region includes the prefectures of Nara, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyōgo and Shiga, often also Mie, sometimes Fukui, Tokushima and Tottori. The metropol ...

. On the other hand, the

cargo In transportation, cargo refers to goods transported by land, water or air, while freight refers to its conveyance. In economics, freight refers to goods transported at a freight rate for commercial gain. The term cargo is also used in cas ...

handling capacity of Nagoya Airport was not enough to satisfy the demands from the regional economy and air cargo shifted to Narita and Kansai. In addition, the airport was hampered by its location in a residential area of Aichi Prefecture, limiting the number of flights that can use the airport, as well as the hours in which they can fly. Because of these reasons, a new airport, Chubu Centrair International Airport, was built on an island south of Nagoya. On February 17, 2005, nearly all of Nagoya Airport's commercial transport flights moved to Centrair. On the same day, the old airport became a general aviation and airbase facility. The airport was also renamed to its current name at the same time. It also became J-Air's headquarters and hub after relocation from Hiroshima-Nishi Airport. The airline continued to operate through the airport until 2011 as the result of corporate restructuring of its parent company

Japan Airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) is the flag carrier airline of Japan. JAL is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport, Narita and Haneda Airport, Haneda airports, as well as secondary hubs in Osaka's Kansai ...

resulted in the airline's departure from the airport and moving its operation base to

Itami Airport , often referred to as , is the primary domestic airport for the Kansai region of Japan, including its major cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is the airport closest to Osaka, being 11 km (7 mi) north of Osaka Station, as well as ...

. At the same time after J-Air's departure, Fuji Dream Airlines opened a base at the airport and was the only airline to fly from the airport since then. A dedicated business aviation terminal and commuter flights within Japan then became the key features of Nagoya's secondary airport. The Aichi Museum of Flight opened at the airport in November 2017.

Military use

Imperial Period

Nagoya Airport was first opened in 1944 as a military airport named Kamake Airfield. It was primarily used as the home base of the 55th ''Sentai'' of the

Imperial Japanese Army Air Service The Imperial Japanese Army Air Service (IJAAS) or Imperial Japanese Army Air Force (IJAAF; ) was the Military aviation, aviation force of the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). Its primary mission was to provide tactical close air support for ground ...

. As such, it was attacked on several occasions during the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

in 1944 and 1945 by

USAAF The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

B-29 Superfortress The Boeing B-29 Superfortress is a retired American four-engined Propeller (aeronautics), propeller-driven heavy bomber, designed by Boeing and flown primarily by the United States during World War II and the Korean War. Named in allusion to ...

bombing raids.

U.S. period

After the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the airfield was taken over by the American occupation forces and renamed Nagoya Air Base. Reconstruction of the heavily damaged airfield began and in May 1946, Nagoya became the headquarters of the Fifth Air Force, which controlled Air Force occupation units throughout Japan. In December 1950 during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, Fifth Air Force headquarters was moved to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

; however, it returned to Nagoya Air Base in September 1954 and remained until July 1957 when it moved to Fuchu Air Station in

as part of the USAF return of Nagoya Airport to Japanese control. The U.S. primarily used Nagoya Air Base as a headquarters station for the next ten years, stationing several command and control units at the base: * 308th Bombardment Wing, 1 Mar 1947-30 Jun 1948 : Moved to Nagoya in March from Kimpo Air Base, South Korea where it had been performing occupation duty since moving there from Okinawa in September 1945 * 85th Fighter Wing, 1 Jun 1947-30 Jun 1948 : Moved from the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

to set up an air defense organization in Japan. * 314th Air Division, 1 Dec 1950-1 Mar 1952 : Activated at Nagoya. During the Korean War it assumed the missions of airfield construction and defense of Japan as well as providing logistical support for the Fifth Air Force. Operational use from the airfield began in February 1947 when the 347th Fighter Group (All Weather) began operating P-61 Black Widow interceptor aircraft, which were used to provide air defense for Japan. It operated from the airfield until June 1950 when the Black Widows were retired and the unit was inactivated. After the Armistice in South Korea which ended combat, the 49th Fighter Group moved to Nagoya Air Base with F-84 Thunderjets. The unit provided air defense until June 1957 when it moved to

Misawa Air Base is an air base of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), List of United States Air Force installations, the United States Air Force, and the United States Navy located in Misawa, Aomori, Misawa, Aomori Prefecture, Aomori, in the northern p ...

. The 6110th Air Base Group, which had maintained the base and the myriad of ground support units at the base since the Americans moved in during 1946 began phasing down after July 1957. The 6110th USAF Hospital remained open until 30 June 1958 when the last Americans left Nagoya Airfield and it was returned to Japanese control.

Japan Self-Defense Force

In 2009 the first dedicated air-to-air refueling squadron of the

Japan Air Self-Defense Force The , , also referred to as the Japanese Air Force, is the Aerial warfare, air and space warfare, space branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace, other air and space operations, cyberwarfare and ...

was formed at Komaki. Named the 404th Tactical Airlift Tanker Squadron, it is equipped with Boeing KC-767J aircraft.

Statistics

Incidents and accidents

*On April 26, 1994, an Airbus A300B4-622R jet operating as China Airlines Flight 140 (B-1816) from

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

to Nagoya crashed onto the south-east corner of the airport apron whilst trying to land on Runway 34, killing 264 of the 271 people on board. It is the second deadliest crash on Japanese soil, after Japan Air Lines Flight 123. *On October 31, 2007, a Mitsubishi F-2 fighter jet, whilst on a test flight, crashed and exploded in flames during takeoff. Both pilots survived the incident with minor injuries. *On May 30, 2015, ''Solar Impulse 2'', part of a Swiss long-range

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

solar-powered aircraft project, made an emergency landing after diverting due to weather en route from Nanjing Lukou International Airport in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

to Kalaeloa Airport in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

; it continued to Hawaii on 28 June.

Tenant squadrons

** 401st Tactical Airlift Squadron ( Lockheed C-130H/KC-130H) ** 404th Tactical Airlift Tanker Squadron ( Boeing KC-767J)(2009–)

Airlines and destinations

Buses

Stage Carriage Coach

Airport Terminal Bus stop Toyoyamachō Shakaikyōiku Center Bus stop Toyoyamacho Shakaikyoiku Center Bus Stops 20170330-02

References

* Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. . * Ravenstein, Charles A. (1984). Air Force Combat Wings Lineage and Honors Histories 1947–1977. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. .

External links

Nagoya Airport Terminal Building
{{authority control Airports in Aichi Prefecture Transport in Nagoya Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces in Occupied Japan Japan Air Self-Defense Force bases Science and technology in Japan Airports established in 1944 Military facilities in Aichi Prefecture 1944 establishments in Japan Toyoyama, Aichi