Departure
95%
vs 95%
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Narita International Airport lies some 60 km east of central Tokyo in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, and is the principal long-haul and cargo gateway to the Greater Tokyo Area alongside Haneda. For a simulator pilot it offers two long, ILS-equipped parallel runways, heavy jet and cargo traffic, and a rich, controversial history rooted in one of postwar Japan's most bitter land disputes.,
Narita International Airport (RJAA/NRT), operated by Narita International Airport Corporation, is the secondary international airport serving Tokyo, the other being Haneda. Sited in the city of Narita, Chiba Prefecture, about 60 km east of central Tokyo, it functions as the main international hub for Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Nippon Cargo Airlines, and as an operating base for United Airlines and low-cost carriers Air Japan, Jetstar Japan, Peach Aviation, Spring Airlines Japan and Zipair Tokyo. For a virtual pilot it is a demanding, high-workload destination: two long parallel hard-surfaced runways, dense heavy-jet and freighter traffic, and full ILS coverage on both runway pairs.
Narita sits within controlled airspace around Tokyo and is served by Tokyo Approach, Tokyo Departure and Tokyo Radar, reflecting its position inside the dense terminal airspace structure covering the Greater Tokyo Area. The airport is located in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, roughly 60 km (37 miles) east of central Tokyo, and its proximity to residential neighbourhoods around the field has long shaped how traffic is handled there.
Narita has two parallel runway pairs. Runway 16R/34L is 13,170 ft long, hard-surfaced, lit and equipped with ILS on both ends. Runway 16L/34R is 8,338 ft (34R: 8,250 ft) long, also hard-surfaced, lit and equipped with ILS on both ends. Field elevation is 135 ft.
Tokyo Approach operates on 124.4 MHz, with Tokyo Departure on 124.2 MHz and Tokyo Radar on 120.2 MHz. The airport ATIS broadcasts on 128.25 MHz. Tower operates on 118.2 MHz and 118.35 MHz, with Ground on 121.85 MHz and 121.95 MHz. Clearance Delivery is available on 121.65 MHz and Clearance on 121.9 MHz, and ramp control operates on 121.6 MHz and 121.75 MHz. A Tokyo TCA frequency of 119.45 MHz is also published. Both runway pairs are equipped with ILS.
Narita is a fully controlled, ATC-managed airport handling heavy commercial and cargo traffic, so all arrivals and departures are conducted under instrument procedures and radar/tower direction rather than informal VFR circuit joining. A mandatory curfew is in force from 00:00 to 06:00 to limit noise impact on the surrounding residential areas, a restriction that has applied since the airport's opening given its close proximity to nearby communities.
Narita opened on 20 May 1978 as New Tokyo International Airport, built to relieve Haneda Airport, which had become constrained by capacity and noise issues as jet traffic grew through the early 1960s. The chosen site, in the villages of Sanrizuka and Shibayama on land that included a former Imperial Household farming estate, was selected without meaningful consultation of local residents, who learned of the plan through the press. This provoked sustained opposition: a coalition of farmers, student activists and left-wing groups formed the Sanrizuka-Shibayama Union to Oppose the Airport, and the resulting Sanrizuka Struggle produced years of protest and violent confrontation before and after the airport opened. The dispute was serious enough that the government passed a special statute banning violent or coercive use of structures related to the airport, and the conflict influenced the later decision to build Kansai International Airport offshore on reclaimed land rather than risk a similar land dispute. Even after opening, a house and farm remained located between the runways as a legacy of the unresolved land disputes, and from 1978 to 2015 Narita was the only airport in Japan where visitors were required to show identification on entry because of this turbulent history. All Nippon Airways began scheduled international flights from Narita, to Guam, in 1986.
Narita remains one of Japan's principal international gateways, serving as the main hub for Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Nippon Cargo Airlines, and as an operating base for United Airlines, Air Japan, Jetstar Japan, Peach Aviation, Spring Airlines Japan and Zipair Tokyo. It was once the busiest airport in Japan by international passenger and cargo traffic and remains among the country's leading air freight hubs. Its 16R/34L runway, at 4,000 m (13,123 ft), shares the record for the longest runway in Japan with the second runway at Kansai International Airport. Operations continue under a mandatory overnight curfew between 00:00 and 06:00 to manage noise impact on nearby residential areas.
