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Kitakyushu Airport (RJFR/KKJ) is a 24-hour airport built on an artificial island in the western Seto Inland Sea, off Kokuraminami-ku in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Opened in 2006 as New Kitakyushu Airport to replace the constrained old Kokura Airport, it now hosts scheduled domestic and international services alongside cargo operations, and is the home base of the airline StarFlyer.
Kitakyushu Airport lies on a purpose-built offshore island in the Seto Inland Sea, serving the city of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture. It opened in March 2006 as New Kitakyushu Airport, replacing the old, geographically constrained Kokura Airport, and was renamed Kitakyushu Airport in 2008. It is notable to a visiting pilot both for its unusual maritime setting and for being one of only six airports in Japan permitted to operate around the clock, alongside Haneda, Naha, New Chitose, Kansai and Chubu Centrair. StarFlyer, the airline that made the first landing here, has its head office on the airport property.
The airport sits in Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyushu, on an artificial island in the western Seto Inland Sea, roughly 3 km from the city's downtown. The field is located at 33.8456N, 131.0350E at an elevation of 20 feet.
Kitakyushu has a single physical runway, 18/36, of 8,171 feet on a hard surface, lit for night operations. Runway 18 is equipped with an ILS approach.
A radio frequency of 118.85 MHz (RDO) is published for the airport. Runway 18 has an ILS approach available for instrument arrivals.
The airport's distinctive setting on a manmade island in the Seto Inland Sea, roughly 3 km offshore from Kitakyushu's downtown, makes it a readily identifiable visual landmark when approaching from the surrounding coastline.
A committee to promote construction of a new airport for Kitakyushu was formed in 1978, with the governor of Fukuoka as chairman, reflecting long-standing frustration with the old Kokura Airport, which suffered operational restrictions from its small size, proximity to mountains and residential areas, and frequent fog-related cancellations. Similar constraints affected the nearby Fukuoka Airport, which could not offer round-the-clock operations because of nearby housing. Construction of the new offshore airport began in October 1994 and generated considerable local interest, with the Kitakyushu municipal government running bus tours to the construction site to address public concerns. The airport officially opened on 16 March 2006 as New Kitakyushu Airport, with the first landing made by a StarFlyer Airbus that day; the first international flight arrived from Shanghai on 30 March 2006. It was renamed Kitakyushu Airport in 2008. Later that year the Korean low-cost carrier Jeju Air operated eight charter flights between Kitakyushu and Seoul-Incheon, and scheduled service on that route began in March 2009. The airport's offshore location and generous dimensions were designed from the outset to permit large jet and cargo aircraft, supporting freight links to nearby industrial zones including a Toyota factory across the bay.
Kitakyushu Airport continues to operate as a 24-hour facility, one of only six in Japan with that status. Scheduled passenger services are provided by Japan Airlines, Jin Air, StarFlyer and Aero K, while cargo operations are flown by Korean Air Cargo and by Spring Japan on behalf of Yamato Transport. StarFlyer maintains its head office on the airport property. Work to extend the runway to 3,000 metres began in December 2023 and is scheduled for completion in August 2027.
