Aomori Airport

Aomori Airport 青森空港 Aomori Kūkō
IATA: AOJ – ICAO: RJSA – WMO: 47542
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Aomori Prefecture
Location	Aomori, Japan
Elevation AMSL	650 ft / 198 m
Coordinates
Website	http://www.aomori-airport.jp
Map
RJSA Location in Japan
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 06/24 3,000 9,843 Asphalt concrete
Source: Japanese AIP at AIS Japan

Aomori Airport (青森空港, Aomori Kūkō) (IATA: AOJ, ICAO: RJSA) is a regional airport located 11.2 km (7.0 mi) south southwest of Aomori Station in Aomori, a city in the Aomori Prefecture of Japan.

History

The first Aomori Airport was opened in 1964, in the town of Namioka, with a single 1200 x 30 meter runway designed for use with the NAMC YS-11 aircraft. The airport was located at an altitude of 200 meters in a valley surrounded by mountains, which hampered operations during inclement weather. The runway was lengthened to 1350 meters in 1971, widened to 45 meters in 1972, and extended to 1400 meters in 1973. The terminal building was expanded in 1974, and again in 1978.

However, due to the geographic limitations of the existing site, design work began on a new airport at its present location southeast of downtown Aomori. The new facilities opened in 1987 with a single 2000 x 60 meter runway, with an ILS system. The runway was extended to 2500 meters in 1990. All Nippon Airways began operations to Tokyo from 1994.

In 1995, the airport terminal building was remodeled, and certified as suitable for international operations. Korean Air began operations to Seoul and Siberian Airlines to Khabarovsk the same year.

In 1998, Air Nippon began operations to Sendai Airport. However, usage of Aomori Airport fell short of projections, and the service was canceled after a year. In April 2003, All Nippon Airways withdrew from operations at Aomori as well, turning its routes over to Skymark Airlines, which in turn ceased operations to Aomori from November of the same year. Siberian Airlines stopped its flights to Aomori in 2004.

The runway was extended to 3000 meters in 2005, and the instrument landing system upgraded to handle Cat-3a fog conditions in 2007.

The Tohoku Shinkansen high-speed rail line was extended to Aomori in 2010, adding intense competition on the Aomori-Tokyo route.

Aomori Prefecture has been considering the privatization of the airport since 2012.

Incidents

• Two United States Air Force F-16 Falcon fighter jets on a training flight from nearby Misawa Air Base made an emergency landing at Aomori Airport on April 26, 2010 due to engine troubles. In a similar incident several years later, two F-16s from Misawa made an emergency landing at Aomori Airport on April 15, 2015 due to an engine oil leak on one of the aircraft; Aomori Governor Shingo Mimura demanded that the U.S. military take measures to prevent a recurrence.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
All Nippon Airways	Osaka-Kansai
All Nippon Airways operated by ANA Wings	Osaka-Itami, Sapporo-Chitose
China Airlines	Charter: Taipei-Taoyuan
EVA Air	Charter: Taipei-Taoyuan
Fuji Dream Airlines	Nagoya-Komaki
Japan Airlines	Tokyo-Haneda
Japan Airlines operated by J-Air	Osaka-Itami, Sapporo-Chitose
Korean Air	Seoul-Incheon
TransAsia Airways	Charter: Taipei-Taoyuan

Ground transportation

The airport has scheduled bus service to central Aomori and Hirosaki; taxis and rental cars are also available.

External links

• Aomori Airport Building Co. Ltd.
• Aomori Airport Administration Office
• Current weather for RJSA at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for AOJ at Aviation Safety Network