ACW - Air Cargo Week
11/30/2011
Narita still on an upward path
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A spokesman for Tokyo-Narita International airport says that over the period from January to the end of September this year the gateway processed about 1.4 million tons of air freight.
It is expecting to handle just over 2 million tons by the end of 2011. "We expect cargo volume of this year to be as much as that of last year," the spokesman revealed, Japan having satisfactorily recovered from the earthquake occured in March.
"But the air freight market is subject to disasters and the business index, both of exports and imports, is stagnant because of the strong yen rate and economic instability seen in Europe and the United States in the latter half of this year," he added.
Driven by its closeness to the large consumer market of Tokyo, Narita airport handles much more import cargo than exports and transhipments, the spokesman noted.
The breakdown of its cargo throughput in 2010 comprised exports at 36.4 percent, imports 42.7 percent, transhipments 20.9 percent.
Narita's current winter schedule has seen the addition of flights by Evergreen International Airlines and Skymark Airlines.
The number of take-offs and landings allowed (passenger and cargo flights) was increased from 220,000 to 235,000 a year from 30 October. The number is expected to rise to 270,000 a year by March 2013.
As regards competition from the Tokyo-Haneda gateway, which opened for international flights last year, the spokesman remarked: "The amount of cargo handled in Haneda from when they started international flights is around 6-7 percent of that of Narita. So far, Haneda's effects have been limited, we consider."
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