Chubu International Airport

Chubu International Airport (Japanese: 中部国際空港), also known as Central Japan International Airport (CENTRAIR), is an airport being constructed on an island in Ise Bay, south of Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. It is named after the surrounding Chubu region. It will open on February 17, 2005.

Chubu will be Japan's third off-shore airport, after Nagasaki Airport and Kansai International Airport in Osaka. When it is completed in February of 2005, it will take over all of the existing Nagoya Airport's commercial flights. The airport's opening is being timed to coincide with the 2005 Expo in Nagoya.

The construction started August 2003, with a budget of 768 billion yen.

Main Terminal

The main terminal is shaped like a "T," with three piers radiating from a central ticketing area. This design keeps check-in to aircraft distances below 300 meters. Originally, designers planned to make the main terminal resemble an origami crane from above, but this plan was abandoned due to cost.

Arrivals will be processed on the second floor, and departures on the third: the lower level will be used for maintenance, catering, and other ground operations, as well as for passenger buses to hardstands in the middle of the apron.

All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines both plan to introduce extra operations to Asian cities from the new airport. Several international airlines, including Air France, plan to return to Nagoya when Chubu opens.