In a country known for efficiency, advancements in airport construction, and being home of some the best airports in the world not everything is perfect. One airport – Fukuoka Airport – is considered Japan's “Most Congested Airport.”
Every so often when traveling within Japan you may encounter crowds, long lines, and occasional delays. However, its not often that an airport – especially in Japan - is actually given a label of being crowded. In a country known for efficiency, advancements in airport construction, and being home of some the best airports in the world not everything is perfect. One airport – Fukuoka Airport – is considered Japan's “Most Congested Airport.” Along with being the 4rdbusiest airport in Japan, the Japanese government has recognized the congestion issues at Fukuoka Airport and declared it a “crowded airport.” Built before the city of Fukuoka grew and now with its expansion options limited, the operator of Fukuoka Airport has taken steps to balance the demand for air travel to and from the city and improve its situation.
How Fukuoka Airport became a “Crowded Airport”
Located around 4 kilometers east of the the city of Fukuoka, Fukuoka Airport is the main air hub of the southern Japanese island of Kyushu. Covering an area of around 355 hectares, Fukuoka Airport currently operates as a two-runway, two-terminal building facility. The international terminal building is located towards the west, while the domestic terminal building is located to the north-east across the two parallel runways. The eastern runway (16L/34R) is the airport's original runway with a length of 2800m, while the new 2500m western runway (16R/34L) was opened recently in March 2025. Prior to the opening of the new runway, the original runway handled the growth of air traffic at Fukuoka Airport for decades.
Before Fukuoka Airport became known as Japan's most crowded airport, it first opened as a military air base towards the end of World War II in 1944. Previously known as Itazuke Airport, the first commercial flights took off and landed at the airport in 1951. Since the launch of the first flights connecting Fukuoka with the two bigger Japanese cities of Tokyo and Osaka, today Fukuoka Airport serves both domestic and international flights mostly within the region. Among the routes that are served from Fukuoka include the direct Tokyo Haneda-Fukuoka route which was named the 3rdBusiest Domestic Air Route in 2024 (seat capacity) by aviation data company OAG.
Image: Fukuoka Airport Terminal 1 Departure Lobby (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
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Image: Aircraft parked with passenger terminal building behind at Fukuoka Airport (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Despite its size, and the expansion and advancements of other airports in Japan, it would surprise many that Fukuoka Airport is the fourth busiest airport in Japan. In 2023, Fukuoka Airport served around 24 million passengers (24.1 million) and saw around 182,000 aircraft movements. That year, Fukuoka Airport rose to be the 3rdbusiest airport in Japan – trailing the two Tokyo area air hubs of Narita and Haneda, along with the two hubs of Osaka – Itami and Kansai. Since 2023, Fukuoka has since been surpassed by Kansai Airport which served over 30 million passengers in 2024. Passenger traffic also grew at Fukuoka to a record 26.7 million the same year.
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Image Credit: City of Fukuoka, Japan
As the city of Fukuoka grew around the one-runway airport, the growth of passenger traffic and aircraft movements has led to issues of delays and congestion at Fukuoka Airport. Prior to the opening of the second runway, the airport was able to handle 38 flights per hour. Aircraft would often be put into a pattern for arrival, while departing aircraft would have to wait in line to take-off. Like most other airports within urban areas in Japan, Fukuoka Airport also has a night time flight curfew. No flights are allowed to/from the airport from 10PM until 7AM the following morning, which results in pressure and a rush for flights to depart and arrive at the airport before 10PM.
Combined with the limited size, congestion, and ability to expand the facilities, Fukuoka Airport has been recognized for its situation including recognition from the Japanese government. In 2016, the Japanese government labelled Fukuoka Airport as a “crowded airport” under aviation law. According to data from Daily Passport and Simple Flying, among the major airports with a single runway around the world, Fukuoka Airport was named the 6thbusiest in 2023 behind Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Lisbon, and London's Gatwick and Stansted. Within Asia, Fukuoka was the second busiest behind Urumqi Diwopu in Mainland China.
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Image Credit: Voronoi by Visual Capitalist
Addressing the Congestion Situation
Fukuoka Airport no longer operates as a single-runway airport. After years of work, the second runway – worth around JPY 164.3 billion (~USD $1.1 billion) – was completed and opened in March 2025. The second runway now offers an alternative option should either runway is closed, though there are some limitations for aircraft movements and the impact of the additional runway at the airport.
Despite the opening of the new runway, the separation between the runways is narrow so simultaneous take-offs and landings are not possible. The runway will only be used for international departures, and will raise the capacity of the airport by just 2 flights per hour – from 38 to 40.
The new runway is part of upgrade work at Fukuoka Airport, which also includes the renovation of the international terminal building and a new control tower. However, expansion beyond the fences surrounding the airport is not possible. While there has been some discussions to build a new airport offshore or further inland within Kyushu, there is no officially announced plan to build a second airport for the city.
While Fukuoka remains the main airport for the island, it also can be argued there is an alternative northeast – Kitakyushu Airport. Built offshore within Fukuoka Prefecture, Kitakyushu is located around 80 kilometers northeast of Fukuoka, and is among the six airports in Japan that is open for flight operations 24/7. The downside of Kitakyushu is a lack of a rail link to/from Fukuoka, and the drive from the city can take around 2 hours. However, if a rail link is built and more transport options are opened, Kitakyushu could be a viable alternate for further development to address the congestion issues at Fukuoka Airport.
With no official plans for a replacement airport project, Fukuoka Airport will continue to serve its role as the primary air hub of Fukuoka and the island of Kyushu. Despite being Japan's most crowded airport, Fukuoka Airport continues to demonstrate its ability to handle the passenger traffic and aircraft movement numbers as one of the busiest airports in all of Japan.
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