Narita International Airport Research Articles

Toward the symbiosis and co-prosperity between Narita International Airport and the local community in line with airport capacity enhancement

Narita International Airport is working toward "Further capacity enhancement of Narita International Airport", and will be able to increase the annual departure and arrival capacity from the current 300,000 to 500,000 times by constructing Runway C, as well as the extension of Runway B. This report describes what kind of initiatives and measures Narita International Airport Corporation (NAA) takes in collaboration with the local municipalities and residents based on the basic idea that "Airport development is regional community development" including the efforts to investigate noise impact on the living environment, including health effects. Narita International Airport has been regarding its symbiosis measures, airport development, and regional development as a trinity and various efforts have been made. In addition, since the opening of the airport, NAA has taken detailed measures from various angles to address the problems stem from being an inland airport. This report describes the background to the implementation of the investigation of the impact of aircraft noise on the living environment, including the impact on health effects, at Narita International Airport. The technical aspects of the study will be presented in another report.

A review of the surveys on health effect of aircraft noise for Narita International Airport

In this paper, we review two previous projects on health effects of aircraft noise for residents living around Narita International Airport, and introduce a summary of the new project which started since 2019. The airport was equipped with a Runway‐A at the opening, and a Runway‐B was constructed to keep pace with increased demand for air transport in 2002. The Runway‐C will be accomplished at the end of fiscal year 2028. The first project on health effects of aircraft noise was conducted in 1998 when the airport had only Runway‐A. And then, second project on health effects of aircraft noise was conducted in 2014 after beginning of conditional relaxation of curfew. These two projects were based on cross‐sectional study, and implemented using a questionnaire to investigate psychological effects like noise annoyance, night‐time insomnia, mental effects like emotional instability and depressive tendency, and physical effects like high‐blood pressure. Since 2019, third project on health effects have been started because of disestablishment of nighttime flight restrictions for the Runway‐A. In this new project, longitudinal data are also included and we have a plan to investigate using objective method. The progress of this project until 2022 is reported in this paper.

Toward the symbiosis and co-prosperity between Narita International Airport and the local community

Narita International Airport has been regarding its symbiosis measures, airport development, and regional development as a trinity and various efforts have been made. In addition, since the opening of the airport, Narita International Airport Corporation(NAA) has taken detailed measures from various angles to address the problems stem from being an inland airport. While environmental measures and regional development can be mentioned as a part of them, noise control, air quality conservation, water quality conservation and natural environmental conservation and agricultural revitalization are mentioned as a part of the environmental measures. Among them, aircraft noise especially has the greatest impact on the area surrounding the airport. Currently, Narita International Airport is working toward "Further capacity enhancement of Narita Airport", and will be able to increase the annual departure and arrival capacity from the current 300,000 to 500,000 times by constructing Runway C, as well as the extension of Runway B. This report describes what kind of initiatives and measures Narita International Airport takes in collaboration with the local municipalities and residents based on the basic idea that "Airport development is regional community development".

Integrated aircraft noise data processing at Narita International Airport

In the area around Narita International Airport, the relevant local governments and Narita International Airport Corporation (NAA) have set up aircraft noise monitoring stations to continuously monitor and measure aircraft noise in order to confirm compliance with the Environmental Quality Standards of Aircraft Noise, to respond to complaints from residents, and to study noise control measures. The measurement data are aggregated and processed by Narita Airport Regional Symbiosis Promotion Foundation (NSF) from a centralized and neutral standpoint, and the results are released to the public after deliberation and verification by a third-party organization established at NSF. This paper introduces NSF's unprecedented efforts to centrally aggregate and process measurement data from monitoring stations installed around the airport. Keywords: Aircraft Noise, Data Processing

The First Case of a Child Infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in Japan, December 2021.

We report the first pediatric patient infected with the Omicron variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Japan. The patient was a one-year-old boy who resided in Japan. He went abroad with his parents from November 12, 2021 to November 28, 2021 and had no known contact with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients there. Upon arrival at the Narita International Airport on November 28, 2021, his father tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 via a quantitative antigen test. Because the boy and his mother tested negative for SARS-CoV-2, they quarantined together at a hotel separately from his father. On December 4, 2021, the boy tested positive by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for SARS-CoV-2, without symptoms, and was hospitalized with his mother; he and his father were both found to be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. The boy was not vaccinated against COVID-19. RT-PCR results were negative starting on December 20, 2021. The incubation period and required period for negative conversion of SARS-CoV-2 RNA of the Omicron variant case were similar to those of the cases of conventional strains. We should carefully consider the potential of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant to spread widely among unvaccinated children.

Volatility of aircraft exhaust ultrafine particles inferred from field measurements at Narita International Airport

We conducted field measurements of aerosols near a runway at Narita International Airport (NRT) in February 2018 to characterize the physical and chemical properties of aircraft exhaust ultrafine particles (UFPs; diameter <100 nm). An ultrafine condensation particle counter (UCPC; d50 = 2.5 nm), a condensation particle counter (CPC; d50 = 10 nm), and an engine exhaust particle sizer (EEPS; 6.0–523 nm) were used to measure the particle number concentrations and size distributions in ambient air. The sample flow for the UCPC and CPC was passed through an evaporation tube for heated measurements (150 °C, 250 °C, or 350 °C) or through a bypass tube for unheated measurements. The evaporation tube temperature (Ttube) of 350 °C was used as a threshold point for the separation of volatile and non-volatile particles. The removal efficiency of the volatile particles at intermediate temperatures (<350 °C) was evaluated in the laboratory using triacontane (C30) and tetracontane (C40) as test compounds. The critical temperature at which the laboratory-generated 30-nm C30 and C40 particles were almost entirely removed was ∼130 °C and ∼250 °C, respectively. The particle number concentrations measured by the UCPC, CPC, and EEPS at NRT were used to investigate the volatility of aircraft exhaust UFPs under real-world operating conditions. The number fraction of the non-volatile particles strongly depended on the geometric mean diameter (GMD) of the unheated particle number size distributions, whereas the vaporization temperature of the volatile particles did not exhibit significant dependency on GMD. The particle number fraction remaining, calculated for the selected evaporation tube temperature (Ttube), indicates that ∼50% and ≳ 90% of the volatile particles were removed at Ttube = 150 °C and 250 °C, respectively, on a number basis. These results suggest that a large fraction (more than half by number) of the volatile UFPs emitted from aircraft was equally or less volatile than the 30 nm pure C30 particles and only a small fraction of the volatile UFPs was equally or less volatile than the 30 nm pure C40 particles.

Vector surveillance at Narita International Airport in 2021: the detection of Japanese encephalitis virus genotype I from &lt;i&gt;Culex tritaeniorhynchus&lt;/i&gt; and the vector control conducted by Narita Airport Quarantine Station

Vector surveillance at Narita International Airport in 2021: the detection of Japanese encephalitis virus genotype I from &lt;i&gt;Culex tritaeniorhynchus&lt;/i&gt; and the vector control conducted by Narita Airport Quarantine Station

Exploring the effect of airport incentive programs: the practice of Narita International Airport

ABSTRACT Incentive programs are widely used by airports as a marketing tool to attract new services. Empirical evidence regarding the effects of an isolated incentive program is yet to be explored. In this paper, we focus on airports located in Asia to detect the mechanisms, results and effects of the incentive program initiated by Narita International Airport, Japan. We present non-financial and financial indices to explore the effects of incentive schemes. For the non-financial aspect, the retention rate of new air services under incentives is explicitly defined and calculated. Regarding the financial impact, the costs and revenues and tourism revenues of flights under incentive schemes are calculated to estimate the incentive program’s financial and economic effects. The results demonstrate that the ‘2015RDP’ incentive program initiated by Narita International Airport has met its strategic goals and achieved success in attracting new services, as well as generating additional revenue for the airport and tourism industry.

Japan’s long 1968 cinema: resistance, struggle, revolt

ABSTRACT This introductory essay contextualizes the articles that comprise the special issue by focusing on a historical period known as the ”Japanese long 1968” or the “season of politics” (roughly 1966 to 1972), in order to address the trends in the period’s cinematic production as a social and political expression of its time. The prevailing socio-political unrest – from the massive student occupation of university campuses, to the campaign against Japan-US alliance within the framework of the Vietnam War, to the struggle against the construction of the Narita International Airport – had a considerable impact on the way some Japanese filmmakers conceived cinema. Beginning with a review of those events, the article demonstrates how analyzing the impact of the Japanese long 1968 on cinema, and how filmmakers intervened in that phenomenon, enables us to reach not only a better comprehension of the films in question, but also of the way they reflect and interact with the historical moment in which they were produced.

Review on Foreign Object Debris Detection Technologies and Advancement for Airport Safety and Surveillance

The rapid growth of air traffic worldwide leads to frequent landing and takeoff of airplanes at busy airports. Therefore, the airport runway must be safe and clean from any tiny size and shape of foreign object debris that is very hard to detect by visual inspection. For successful and fast removal of foreign object debris, an efficient system capable of precisely detecting foreign object debris is required. This paper presents a review of the available technologies to detect foreign object debris and compares commercially available foreign object debris detection technologies. The review has revealed that millimeter-wave radar technology is one of the most efficient foreign object debris detection techniques as it is weather resilient. Furthermore, millimeter-wave radar integrated with radio over fiber technology provides a cost-effective solution to detect foreign object debris within 10 seconds at 96 GHz frequency. A pilot test has been carried out at Narita International Airport, Japan and Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia, to detect foreign object debris either in a mobile or immobile position.

Characteristics of sub-10 nm particle emissions from in-use commercial aircraft observed at Narita International Airport

Abstract. The characterization of ultrafine particle emissions from jet aircraft equipped with turbofan engines, which are commonly used in civil aviation, is an important issue in the assessment of the impacts of aviation on climate and human health. We conducted field observations of aerosols and carbon dioxide (CO2) near a runway at Narita International Airport, Japan, in February 2018. We used an ultrafine condensation particle counter (UCPC) and a condensation particle counter (CPC) with unheated and 350 ∘C heated operation modes to investigate the contributions of sub-10 nm size ranges to the total and the non-volatile particle number concentrations. The performance of the 350 ∘C heated mode was tested in the laboratory to verify the consistency with existing methods for non-volatile particle measurements. We also used a scanning mobility particle sizer with unheated and 350 ∘C heated modes and an engine exhaust particle sizer for the measurements of particle number size distributions. Spiked increases in the particle number concentrations and CO2 mixing ratios were observed to be associated with the directions of wind from the runway, which can be attributed to diluted aircraft exhaust plumes. We estimated the particle number emission indices (EIs) for discrete take-off plumes using the UCPC, CPC, and CO2 data. The median values of the total and the non-volatile particle number EIs for diameters larger than 2.5 nm as derived from the UCPC data were found to be 1.1×1017 and 5.7×1015 kg per fuel, respectively. More than half the particle number EIs were in the size range smaller than 10 nm for both the total and the non-volatile particles in most of the cases analyzed in this study. The significance of sub-10 nm size ranges for the total particles in the diluted plumes was qualitatively consistent with previous studies, but that for the non-volatile particles was unexpected. Possible factors affecting the similarities and differences compared with the previous findings are discussed.

Large Eddy Simulation on Horizontal Convective Rolls that Caused an Aircraft Accident during its Landing at Narita Airport

AbstractAn accident occurred when an aircraft landed at Narita International Airport, Japan, on 20 June 2012. The aircraft encountered rapid changes of winds together with strong turbulence, although the weather was fair. In the present study, a two‐domain nested regional weather prediction models are used. The results in the outer domain show that southwesterly winds associated with a synoptic extratropical cyclone were locally accelerated to the southwest of the airport resulting in strong vertical shear. The simulation in the inner domain reproduces horizontal convective rolls, which are similar to those observed by a Doppler lidar at the airport. The wind velocity component parallel to the runway had a spatial variation of about 10 m s . The present approach using a large eddy simulation is useful for clarifying environments and features of horizontal convective rolls and forecasting low‐level wind shear associated with them, which can be a significant risk for aircraft.

Lighting Plan of Narita International Airport Terminal

Lighting Plan of Narita International Airport Terminal

Network Robustness of Major Asian Airlines and the Impact of Airports’ Brokerage Roles

This study aims to evaluate the network robustness of major Asian airlines and to explore which airport types have the greatest impact on robustness. We also analyze airports’ specific brokerage roles and their impacts on the robustness of the entire air route network. We select 10 major Asian full-service airlines that operate the main passenger terminals at the top-ranked hub airports in Asia. Data is collected from the Official Airline Guide passenger route dataset for 2017. The results of the network robustness analysis show that Air China and China Eastern Airlines have relatively high network robustness. In contrast, airlines with broader international coverage, such as Japan Airlines, Korean Air, and Singapore Airlines have higher network vulnerability. The measure of betweenness centrality has a greater impact on the robustness of air route networks than other centrality measures have. Furthermore, the brokerage role analysis shows that Chinese airports are more influential within China and Asia but are less influential globally when compared to other major hub airports in Asia. Incheon International Airport, Singapore Changi Airport, Hong Kong International Airport, and Narita International Airport play strong “liaison” roles. Among the brokerage roles, the liaison role has a greater impact on the robustness of air route networks.

Quantitative risk assessment of African swine fever virus introduction to Japan via pork products brought in air passengers' luggage.

The spread of African swine fever (ASF) has reached pandemic levels over the last decade, and outbreaks of this disease in China, Mongolia, Vietnam and Cambodia in 2018 and 2019 could accelerate its transmission to neighbouring Asian territories. Thus, the risk that the ASF virus (ASFV) will be introduced to disease-free territories increases each year. Since Japan is an island nation, the most likely way in which ASFV would be introduced is via pork products brought in air passengers' luggage (PPAP). Therefore, in the present study, we assessed the risk of ASFV introduction to Japan via PPAP. For the purposes of this analysis, we considered 214 international commercial flights travelling from 47 origin territories to 31 destination airports as potential routes of ASFV introduction via PPAP. The risk was estimated quantitatively through a stochastic model that considered the volume of air passengers' luggage, the amount of confiscated pork products that were carried in air passengers' luggage and the disease status of the origin territory. The overall mean annual probability of ASFV introduction to Japan via PPAP was found to be 0.941 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.661-1.000], which approximately corresponds to one introduction every 1.06years. At the origin territory level, Mongolia was led as the highest risk territory, with a risk of 0.864 (95% CI, 0.434-1.000), followed by China (0.697; 0.223-0.999), Vietnam (0.662; 0.196-0.998) and the Russian Federation (0.136; 0.018-0.401). At the destination airport level, Narita International Airport had the highest risk (0.905; 0.537-1.000), followed by Kansai International Airport (0.496; 0.109-0.961), Tokyo International Airport (0.389; 0.072-0.879) and Chubu Centrair International Airport (0.338; 0.058-0.816). This information will help improve risk management activities and monitoring systems to prevent the introduction of ASFV to Japan.

Identification of jet lubrication oil as a major component of aircraft exhaust nanoparticles

Abstract. Jet engine aircraft are ubiquitous and significant sources of atmospheric nanoparticles. Using size-resolved particulate samples collected near a runway of the Narita International Airport, Japan, we clearly demonstrate that organic compounds in the ambient nanoparticles (diameters: &lt; 30 nm) were dominated by nearly intact forms of jet engine lubrication oil. This finding provides direct evidence for the importance of unburned lubrication oil as a source of aircraft exhaust nanoparticles and also has an implication for their environmental impacts near airports and in the upper troposphere.

Improving Amenities at Narita International Airport--Utilizing High-precision Indoor Maps and Geomagnetic Positioning to Facilitate the Movement of Visitors

Improving Amenities at Narita International Airport--Utilizing High-precision Indoor Maps and Geomagnetic Positioning to Facilitate the Movement of Visitors

Low-Level Wind Shear Induced by Horizontal Roll Vortices at Narita International Airport, Japan

Low-Level Wind Shear Induced by Horizontal Roll Vortices at Narita International Airport, Japan

Form Follows Function; Act Follows Form How the Form and Shape of Our Objects Affect Our Behaviour

The objects we plan, form and shape also shape our lives. From the smallest human-made objects such as a city map to the biggest such as a city, they all have a bearing on our lives. They make a major impact on the way we feel and on our physical and mental health. This paper approaches the matter through different examples, primarily looking at the effects made by the form and shape of objects. A look at the use of our everyday objects shows in what ways and to what extent the different planning methods and principles may affect our habits and lives, how they serve society and what unexpected side-effects they may have at times. Harry Beck's Tube Map from 1933, the Legible London way-finding system, and Terminal 3 of Narita International Airport are fine examples of the possible links between the forms and uses of objects. The analysis sheds some light on the importance of cooperation between disciplines, in both planning and architect training.

Providing Japanese health care information for international visitors: digital animation intervention

BackgroundOver 24 million international visitors came to Japan in 2016 and the number is expected to increase. Visitors could be at a risk of illness or injury that may result in hospitalization in Japan. We assessed the effects of a four-minute digital animation titled Mari Info Japan on the level of anxiety experienced by international visitors to Japan.MethodsWe conducted a non-randomized, controlled study at Narita International Airport outside Tokyo in December 2014. On the first day, we recruited international visitors for the intervention group at predetermined departure gates and, the following day, we sampled visitors for the control group at the same gates. We repeated this procedure twice over 4 days. The intervention group watched the digital animation and the control group read a standard travel guidebook in English. After receiving either intervention, they completed a questionnaire on their level of anxiety. The outcome was assessed using the Mari Meter-X, The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form Y (STAI-Y), and a face scale, before and immediately after the intervention. We analyzed data with Wilcoxon rank sum tests.ResultsWe recruited 265 international visitors (134 in the intervention group, 131 in the control group), 241 (91%) of whom completed the questionnaire. Most of them had no previous Japanese health information before arrival in Japan. The level of anxiety about health services in Japan was significantly reduced in the intervention group (Mari Meter-X median: − 5 and 0, p < 0.001 and STAI-Y median: − 3 and 0, p < 0.001). The face scale analysis showed no significant difference.ConclusionsWatching a digital animation is more effective in reducing anxiety among international visitors to Japan compared with reading a standard brochure or guidebook. Such effective animations of health information should be more widely distributed to international visitors.Trial registrationUMIN-CTR (University Hospital Medical Information Network Center Clinical Trials Registry), UMIN000015023, September 3, 2014.