Kōchi Airport

Kōchi Airport 高知空港
IATA: KCZ – ICAO: RJOK
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Government of Japan
Operator	Kōchi Airport
Location	Nankoku, Kōchi, Japan
Elevation AMSL	29 ft / 9 m
Coordinates	33°32′46″N 133°40′10″E / 33.54611°N 133.66944°ECoordinates: 33°32′46″N 133°40′10″E / 33.54611°N 133.66944°E
Website	www.kochiap.co.jp
Map
RJOK Location in Japan
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 14/32 2,500 8,202 Asphalt concrete
Source: Japanese AIP at AIS Japan[1]

Kōchi Airport (高知空港) (IATA: KCZ, ICAO: RJOK), also known as Kōchi Ryōma Airport (高知龍馬空港), is a regional airport in Nankoku, a city in Kōchi Prefecture of Japan. It is located on the southeastern coast, 7 NM (13 km; 8.1 mi) east^[1] of the city of Kōchi.

The 120 ha (297 acres) airport has a single runway handling small to medium size aircraft. The 10,900 m² (117,327 sq ft) two storey terminal building is located to the north side of the runway. The arrivals level is on the first floor and departures on the second. There are 14 retail stores in the small terminal building. There is an observation deck on the third floor of the building. Transportation from the airport is by car, taxi or bus.

History

Kōchi Airport was originally built in 1944 as Kōchi Airfield for the Imperial Japanese Navy and from 1945 to 1952 the airport was under command of US forces. The airfield became a civilian airport in 1952 and first flights started operating in 1954.

The runway was expanded in 1960 and 1980 and later to 2,500 metres (8,202 ft) to handle larger aircraft.

In November 2003 it became the first airport in Japan to be nicknamed after a person: Bakumatsu period leader Sakamoto Ryōma.^[2]

Facts

• 2,400,000 passengers annually (1,932,000 in 2000)
• 6,850 long tons (6,960 t) of cargo annually (2000)
• 13,500 landings annually (2000)
• 3 gates handling 37 aircraft

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
All Nippon Airways	Osaka-Itami, Tokyo-Haneda
All Nippon Airways operated by ANA Wings	Osaka-Itami
Far Eastern Air Transport	Seasonal Charter: Taipei-Taoyuan[3]
Fuji Dream Airlines	Fukuoka, Nagoya-Komaki
Japan Airlines	Fukuoka, Tokyo-Haneda

Incidents and accidents

All Nippon Airways Flight 1603 plane makes a belly landing at Kōchi Airport on 13 March 2007 after the front landing gear fails to deploy.

On 13 March 2007, All Nippon Airways Flight 1603, a Bombardier Dash 8, bound from Osaka to Kōchi, landed safely at the Kōchi Airport after the front wheel of the plane failed to deploy. As a result, ANA's fleet of thirteen Bombardier DHC-8 aircraft were grounded for emergency inspections.^[4]

References

1. AIS Japan
2. "Japan's Kochi airport named after samurai with six-shooter", ThingsAsian.com, 2003-11-16.
3. FAT opens charter to Kochi, Shonai and Kitakyushu
4. Japanese airline grounds Bombardier fleet after plane makes emergency landing - All News Radio online - Obtained March 14, 2007.

External links

• Kōchi Airport (Japanese)
• Kōchi Airport Guide from Japan Airlines
• Current weather for RJOK at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for KCZ at Aviation Safety Network