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Japan's Spectacular Floating Airports

Japans Spectacular Floating Airports

As the world’s population increases at a more-than-healthy rate and the cost of travel decreases, the number of people looking to travel by air is understandably on the rise. With this growing demand comes the need for more airports as existing ones struggle to cope with the millions of passengers passing through on a daily basis.




So what happens when there’s no suitable land to build a new major airport or locals protest the new construction without hesitation due to noise pollution or other environmental implications?




If you travel to Japan in the near future you may witness a solution to these problems, in the form of floating airports. At present there are four such constructions in Japan (there are also examples in Hong Kong and Macau), each built on its own artificial island offshore and each backed by the community it serves. The first of these incredible engineering wonders to be built, and the first of its kind in the world, was Kansai International Airport in Osaka Bay. Just to build the 4-kilometre long island called for 21 million cubic metres of landfill plus the assistance of 80 ships, then there was the small matter of connecting the airport to the mainland by way of a 3-kilometre bridge. In total the project has so far cost around $20 billion but has already saved some expense by surviving both an earthquake and a typhoon in the last 15 years, in addition to being open 24 hours a day due to its location.




Here are Japan’s four floating airports.




Kansai International Airport





See the airport on Google Maps here and read more about it at Wikipedia.



New Kitakyushu Airport





See the airport on Google Maps here and read more about it at Wikipedia.



Kobe Airport





See the airport on Google Maps here and read more about it at Wikipedia.



Chubu Centrair International Airport





See the airport on Google Maps here and read more about it at Wikipedia.




So, what does the future hold for the location of airports?




For those airports situated near the coast it makes a lot of sense to follow the examples in Japan for a number of reasons, most importantly environmental impact and space consumption.




However, there are also other innovations to welcome, one of the most intriguing being a Rotating Floating Airport invented by Van Den Noort Innovations BV in the Netherlands. As far as we know the idea hasn’t been realised yet but the concept seems like a good one. The RFA’s main circular body (arrival and departure lounges, transport stations) would sit below sea level, its base embedded in the sea bed, whilst the runway platform would float on the water, rotating according to wind direction. In essence the entire structure would resemble a gigantic propeller lodged in the ground, air traffic landing and taking-off on its blades.





For more information on the RFA, visit the inventor’s website here.

Airport News posted by e on 03 June 2008

Comments

Reply

They aren''t floating...

They are man-made islands which is a very different thing.

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 00:10:00

Reply

Population Growing?

Japan''s population is actually shrinking! For the last three years or so, deaths have outnumbered births. There are certainly reasons for these airports, but population growth is not one. You might want to re-think the editorial comment.

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 02:53:00

Reply

For whom is the cost of travel decreasing??

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 05:21:00

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Re:

everyone. It just doesnt seem like it is because its still dang expensive

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 18:16:00

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Unbelievable

May they rule the world ;)

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 09:26:00

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Battleship

Is there really a difference between that and a huge battleship?

O_o

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 14:10:00

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Re:Battleship

yes battleships move

Comment posted by Anonymous on 05/06/2008 00:21:00

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Re:Battleship

Yeah.

For one thing they''re not ships.

Comment posted by Anonymous on 05/06/2008 06:49:00

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?????

If the japanese have no more land upon which to build airports, where are the finding land fill materials?

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 14:27:00

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Re:?????

Knocking the tops off of mountains, and/or dredging.

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 14:37:00

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Re:?????

from the bottom of the sea, its called dredging...

Comment posted by Anonymous on 05/06/2008 04:53:00

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I hope the Republicans are taking notes since they hate Science so much.

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 14:33:00

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That''s crazy!!!! What happens if there''s a typhoon or hurricane. Stupid!

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 14:36:00

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Re: That''''''''s crazy!!!

Read closer:

"In total the project has so far cost around $20 billion but has already saved some expense by surviving both an earthquake and a typhoon in the last 15 years, in addition to being open 24 hours a day due to its location."

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 15:46:00

Reply

Re: That''''''''''''''''s crazy!!!

hey buddy a typhoon and a hurricane are the same thing

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 17:53:00

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Since when....

...is the price of travel decreasing?

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 21:26:00

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They did pretty good on our railroads too.

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 21:37:00

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Used to live in Osaka

What this article fails to mention is just how very frightening it is to actually land at one of these airports. Don''t believe in God? Well, we''ll see how quickly you find religion when your plane is 30 or so feet from the water, wings dipping up and down due to the wind coming off the water...

Comment posted by Anonymous on 04/06/2008 21:50:00

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Environmental impact?

"For those airports situated near the coast it makes a lot of sense to follow the examples in Japan for a number of reasons, most importantly environmental impact and space consumption."

Is this implying there is NO environmental impact by filling land offshore?! Just because it''s under the water doesn''t mean it doesn''t exist. Not far from where I live in Northern/Central California are some of the world''s largest marine sanctuaries, not to mention wetlands in the San Francisco Bay. There is HUGE environmental impact for any of these projects. The appropriateness of the project just depends on where it is going in and what kind of natural habitat that represents.

Comment posted by Anonymous on 05/06/2008 07:38:00

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Re Used to live in Osaka

What''s the difference between 30 feet off the water or 30 feet off the ground?

Comment posted by Anonymous on 05/06/2008 16:12:00

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Re:Re Used to live in Osaka

Perception. ;o)

Comment posted by Anonymous on 05/06/2008 16:44:00

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sea level rise

If countries around the world create these airports, surely it will contribute to sea levels rising!! you cant chop off tops of mountains and chuck it all in the sea to build on without any side effects!!!!

Comment posted by Anonymous on 11/06/2008 17:57:00

Reply

Kudos

versatile Airport with awesome facilities

Comment posted by Amit on 13/06/2008 12:18:00

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