Latest news with #KansaiAirports
News18
10-07-2025
- Climate
- News18
Japan's Kansai Airport Is Sinking Beneath Bay, Continues To Inch Lower Each Year: Report
Last Updated: Japan's Kansai International Airport has sunk over 17 metres since construction, more than initially expected, due to the soft clay foundation, a report has claimed. Japan's Kansai International Airport (KIX), built on a man-made island in Osaka Bay, is sinking. According to the South China Morning Post, while the airport has grown into a major hub for both domestic and international flights, it has already sunk into the clay layers beneath the bay more than engineers initially expected, and it continues to inch lower every year. The report quoted operator Kansai Airports and stated that the surface of the airport's first island is today about 3.84 metres (12.6 feet) lower than when it opened in 1994. Since landfill began for its construction, the airport has experienced an average settlement of 13.66 metres (45 inches), the report claimed. The operator is keen to point out that some 'settling" of the surface level was always expected. The average subsidence measured just 6cm (2.4 inches) across 17 points on the artificial island last year, according to the latest data released in December. The situation is somewhat worse at the second island, where the surface has fallen by 17.47 metres (57.3 feet) since the commencement of landfill work, and the average subsidence at 54 measurement points last year was 21cm (8.3 inches), according to the report. More than US$150 million has been spent on raising the sea walls surrounding the islands, but some engineers still predict that in the next 30 years, sections of the elevated airfield may be at sea level. The islands were constructed atop a 20-metre (65.6-foot) thick layer of alluvial clay, which acted like a sponge. The report also suggested that despite installing 2.2 million vertical pipe drains that were meant to solidify the clay and limit contraction, the weight of the landfill, including more than 200 million cubic metres (7.6 billion cubic feet) of debris and 48,000 tetrapods, has squeezed the clay more than anticipated. The challenges facing the airport became apparent in September 2018, when it had to be entirely shut down after being flooded by storm surges caused by Typhoon Jebi. The strongest typhoon to hit Japan in a quarter of a century caused US$13 billion in damage and led to 21 deaths across the Pacific, it mentioned. The report attributed to a statement on the operator's website, and stated that the rate of subsidence is lessening and it continues to monitor the foundations of the airport, including accumulating data on subsidence and seeking the advice of academics. Hiroo Ichikawa, a professor emeritus of urban planning and policy at Meiji University, said the sinking of the islands remained within acceptable levels and that the entire project had been a valuable learning experience for other similar man-made island plans. In the past, Japan's Kansai International Airport (KIX) has won international awards for its architectural design, efficiency and staff, and was recognised last year as the best airport in the world for baggage delivery after not mislaying a single item of luggage for a decade. Made up of two islands, one covering 510 hectares (1,260 acres) and the second over 1,055 hectares, the airport was built to ease overcrowding at the nearby Osaka International Airport and welcomed its first passenger flight in September 1994. view comments First Published: July 10, 2025, 13:10 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
The Independent
23-06-2025
- The Independent
Why the world's best airport for luggage handling is sinking into the sea
The Kansai international airport, built on a pair of manmade islands in Japan's Osaka Bay, was once celebrated as a marvel of engineering. Now it's sinking into the sea. The airport is grappling with subsidence problems because it is built on soft clay that cannot adequately support its immense weight. This ongoing sinking threatens the airport's future, as rising seas and natural forces slowly pull down the engineering wonder closer to the depths. The Japanese airport was hailed as a landmark solution to overcrowding – it was meant to alleviate congestion at the nearby Osaka airport – and a model of regional economic competition when it opened in 1994. It was originally estimated to sink 13 feet in 50 years but has outpaced that prediction by going down over 42 feet since construction. 'When the Kansai airport was constructed, the amount of soil to reclaim the land was determined based on necessary ground level and subsidence estimation over 50 years after the construction,' Yukako Handa, former communications director for Kansai Airports, which managed the artificial islands as well as the original Osaka Itami airport on the mainland, told Smithsonian magazine in 2018. He said engineers were astonished by the discrepancy between laboratory predictions of soil consolidation – the process whereby newly added soil layers solidify into a stable base – and the much faster settling that occurred after thousands of tons of fill were deposited into the bay. Last year, the Kansai airport recorded 169,774 flight arrivals and departures and handled 25.9 million passengers, just shy of the pre-pandemic peak of 29.4 million. It was recognised as the world's best airport for luggage handling, according to The Straits Times, maintaining its record of no lost luggage for over a decade. The Kansai airport was conceived as a solution to overcrowding at the Osaka international airport, which was hemmed in by dense urban development. Finding no room for expansion on land, planners opted for an ambitious offshore site in the Osaka Bay, far enough to avoid disturbing local communities, yet close enough to serve the region effectively. This entailed pulling off the engineering feat of building artificial islands on a seabed over 60 feet deep, with Japan 's seismic risks in mind. The runways were specifically designed to flex during earthquakes, reducing the risk of cracks and structural damage. The project cost around £14bn. The airport was constructed atop a seabed composed of soft alluvial clay, which engineers knew would compress under the immense weight of the artificial islands. To accelerate and control this expected sinking, they installed sand drains. However, the subsidence proved far more severe than anticipated. By 1990, just three years into construction, the site had already sunk 27 feet, far surpassing the projection of 19 feet. Despite efforts to manage the sinking with advanced techniques like sand drains, the forces beneath the surface proved too powerful and unpredictable. This dramatic early subsidence revealed just how fragile the airport's foundation truly was. At its core, the Kansai airport's ongoing sinking stems from the very nature of its foundation: soft, loose clay and silt beneath the seabed that naturally compresses under immense weight. The enormous landfill used to create the artificial islands put relentless pressure on this unstable ground, and construction moved forward before the sediment had fully settled, setting the stage for continuous and unavoidable subsidence. To reduce the airport's rapid sinking, engineers invested around £112m to reinforce and raise the seawall around it. They also installed 2.2 million vertical sand-filled pipes deep into the clay seabed to help drain excess moisture and stabilise the ground. These efforts slowed the rate of subsidence. In 1994, the airport was sinking more than 19 inches a year, but by 2008 that had dropped to 2.8 inches. By 2023, the sinking was down to 2.3 inches annually. Despite this progress, the airport remains at risk. Engineers warn that parts of the airport may fall below sea level by 2056 if subsidence continues. Climate change adds another layer of risk to the airport, already vulnerable to storm surges and seismic activity. In 2018, Typhoon Jebi underlined these dangers when it struck Osaka Bay, flooding the runway and forcing a two-week shutdown. High seas flooded one of its two runways, while strong winds sent a 2,500-tonne tanker slamming into the side of a bridge connecting the airport to the mainland. Some 5,000 passengers stranded at the airport were transported to the mainland by boat, according to the daily Japan Times. In response, authorities raised the seawall around the airport by an additional 2.7m to better withstand future flooding. While such engineering solutions implemented over the years have bought precious time, the battle against subsidence and rising seas is far from over for the airport. The bleak prediction from experts has sparked anger among some members of the Japanese engineering community. 'It's irresponsible,' Professor Yoichi Watabe from Hokkaido University's engineering faculty told The New York Times in 2018. Prof Watabe, who has studied the Kansai airport's issues extensively, however did acknowledge that the forecast wasn't completely without merit. Still, he pointed out that the predictions assumed Japan 'will simply stand by and watch it sink without taking action'. He added: 'We definitely will not.'
South China Morning Post
16-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
Japan's sinking airport: how much lower can Kansai International go?
Japan 's Kansai International Airport (KIX) has won international awards for its architectural design, efficiency and staff, and was recognised last year as the best airport in the world for baggage delivery after not mislaying a single item of luggage for a decade. Despite all the plaudits, KIX has a major drawback: it is sinking. Built on a man-made island in Osaka Bay, KIX was one of the largest construction and engineering projects ever undertaken in Japan. Made up of two islands, one covering 510 hectares (1,260 acres) and the second over 1,055 hectares, it was built to ease overcrowding at the nearby Osaka International Airport and welcomed its first passenger flight in September 1994. Since then, it has grown into a major hub for both domestic and international flights, with around 30.6 million passengers linked to 91 cities in 25 countries in 2024. While the numbers are impressive, it is hard to get past the fact that the airport has already sunk into the clay layers beneath the bay more than engineers initially expected, and it continues to inch lower every year. According to operator Kansai Airports, the surface of the airport's first island is today about 3.84 metres (12.6 feet) lower than when it opened in 1994. Since landfill began for its construction, the airport has experienced an average settlement of 13.66 metres (45 inches). The operator is keen to point out that some 'settling' of the surface level was always expected. The average subsidence measured just 6cm (2.4 inches) across 17 points on the artificial island last year, according to the latest data released in December.
Associated Press
15-04-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Kansai International Airport's Populous Redesigned Terminal 1 Opens Ahead of World Expo 2025
KANSAI, Japan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 15, 2025-- Kansai Airports and global design firm Populous have been working for more than seven years to completely reimagine the airport's floor plan, bringing a new level of efficiency and experience for travellers to Japan's west. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: KANSAI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT'S POPULOUS REDESIGNED TERMINAL 1 OPENS AHEAD OF WORLD EXPO 2025. The final phase of the refurbished Kansai International Airport (KIX) Terminal 1 has opened on 27 March 2025 to accommodate the millions of passengers expected to pass through the iconic building to attend World Expo in Osaka. Kansai Airports and global design firm Populous have been working for more than seven years to completely reimagine the airport's floor plan, bringing a new level of efficiency and experience for travellers to Japan's west. Populous Senior Principal and Director, Brett Wightman, said the original Kansai International Airport (KIX) Terminal 1 wanted to make the best possible use of the existing infrastructure and maximize commercial return for Kansai Airports. 'Working closely with the facility operators, key stakeholders and end users, as well as expert retail and planning consultants, we have been able to craft a design that is built upon operational functionality, passenger convenience, accessibility and sustainability, while delivering innovative solutions that create an authentic and experiential environment with a clearly defined spirit of place,' Mr Wightman said. The new Terminal 1 includes a 60% increase in the size of the international departure lounge and retail offerings, the introduction of innovative retail layouts based on passenger experiences, and the creation of a seamless processing experience. PHASED RENOVATION TO ALLOW FOR CONTINUED OPERATIONS Populous led the architecture and interior design of the redevelopment, as well overseeing the project throughout construction. Mr Wightman said, importantly, the design considered operational functionality during renovation. The project has been completed in four phases to allow for continued operations of the airport, which is expected to accommodate more than 40 million passengers a year from 2025 and almost double international capacity. In October 2022, KIX opened the new Phase 1 domestic area followed by the new international area. Phase 2 of the project was completed in December 2023, and included 6,650 square meters of additional airside retail outlets, 1,130 square meters of food and beverage space and a new centralized immigration area. The Populous team and Kansai Airports completed Phase 3 on March 27, 2025, allowing the consolidation and extension of the security screening area to be ready before World Expo 2025 begins in April in Osaka. PHASE 3 – INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CHECKPOINT OPENS 27 MARCH 2025 Phase 3 includes faster, more comfortable and smoother security inspection with additional smart lanes capable of processing between 4,500 and 6,000 passengers an hour. The new queuing management system is the first of its kind in Japan, automatically controlling flapper gates to switch waiting lines by utilizing real-time passenger flow data. The system enables passengers to be automatically guided to the security inspection lanes based on the number of passengers and their flow. A new commercial area includes 13 stores across international departures, international arrivals and a street food court. The project has already been recognised for its architectural vision as a finalist in the 2023 World Architecture Festival Awards for Future Projects – Infrastructure. Originally designed by world renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano, the airport is considered an architectural icon. Regarded as part of the high-tech architecture movement of the 1990s, KIX's industrial design is famous for its asymmetrical clear-span sweeping aerofoil roofline. At 1.7km long, it is one of the longest airport passenger terminal buildings in the world. Principal Design Manager, Architect Jack Kato said the redesign had to respect the old while embracing new commercial opportunities for passengers. 'We broke away from the former gray color scheme, reinvigorating the interior spaces with a palette of natural materials to give the terminal a distinctly Japanese feel, but at the same time we opened up areas like the relocated immigration hall to provide an open space reflecting the original architecture and offering an inspiring arrival experience to start each journey,' Mr Kato said. 'This will transform the arrival experience of each journey into something inspirational.' View source version on CONTACT: Charlie Brooks [email protected] +44 7881268501 KEYWORD: AFRICA UNITED STATES JAPAN NORTH AMERICA ASIA PACIFIC EUROPE MIDDLE EAST CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: RETAIL ARCHITECTURE TRANSPORTATION DESTINATIONS TRAVEL COMMERCIAL BUILDING & REAL ESTATE RESTAURANT/BAR LUXURY CONSTRUCTION & PROPERTY AIR TRANSPORT LANDSCAPE FOOD/BEVERAGE INTERIOR DESIGN SOURCE: Populous Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 04/15/2025 05:00 AM/DISC: 04/15/2025 05:00 AM
