Future
The airport presently serves about 1.8 million passengers a year, making it the second busiest third-class airport in Japan, behind Kobe Airport, and traffic has been growing steadily as the Yaeyama Islands have become a popular tourist destination. However, the current runway cannot accommodate planes larger than a Boeing 737, and the present site is not suitable for expansion due to urban encroachment. The airport also does not have facilities for handling standard cargo containers.
To meet these needs, New Ishigaki Airport (新石垣空港, Shin-Ishigaki Kūkō?) is under construction on the eastern side of the island. Plans for the new airport date back to 1979, when the prefectural government planned to build a 2,500 m (8,202 ft) runway by the shore at Shiraho (白保). However, due to concerns about coral, the residents of Shiraho have long opposed the project. In addition, historical artifacts from the Shiraho Saonetabaru Cave Ruins some 18,000 to 15,000 years old have been dug up, affecting the timeline of the project.
The new airport is supposed to have a 2,000 m (6,562 ft) runway, expandable to 2,500 m (8,202 ft). Construction started in October 2006, for completion by 2013, and is scheduled to open on March 7 of that year.
Read more about this topic: Ishigaki Airport
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