Departure
93%
vs 95% ▼ 2
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Nagasaki Airport (RJFU/NGS) lies on a reclaimed island in Omura Bay, Nagasaki Prefecture, on the Japanese island of Kyushu, and holds the distinction of being the world's first full-scale airport built out over the sea. For a simulator pilot it offers a striking maritime approach over Omura Bay to a single long runway served by full ATC and an ILS.
Nagasaki Airport, ICAO code RJFU and IATA code NGS, sits on a purpose-built island in Omura Bay in the centre of Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu. It is notable as the first airport in the world constructed entirely on reclaimed land in the ocean, and it remains a busy domestic and international gateway for the region. For a visiting VFR or IFR pilot in the simulator, the airport's isolated island setting, long single runway and full radar and tower service make it a distinctive and rewarding destination.
The airfield occupies the site of the former island of Mishima, in the middle of Omura Bay, and is connected to the mainland near the city of Omura by the 970-metre Mishima Ohashi Bridge. It functions as a large airport with a full suite of air traffic services, including approach, departure, tower and ground control.
Nagasaki has a single physical runway, 14/32, measuring 9,800 feet in length with a hard surface and runway lighting. Runway 32 is equipped with an ILS. Field elevation is 13 feet above mean sea level, with the airport centred at approximately 32.9169 N, 129.914 E.
Pilots can expect the following frequencies at Nagasaki: Approach on 119.175 MHz, ATIS on 126.85 MHz, Departure on 121 MHz, Ground on 121.6 MHz, and Tower on 118.5 MHz. An ILS is available for runway 32.
The airport's island setting in the middle of Omura Bay is itself the primary visual reference, and the 970-metre Mishima Ohashi Bridge linking the airfield to the mainland near Omura is a clear landmark for pilots inbound from the surrounding coastline.
The present airport opened on 1 May 1975, built on reclaimed land around the small island of Mishima, which before construction covered about 900,000 square metres and was home to 66 people in 13 households who relocated to allow the project to proceed. Construction began in 1972 and took roughly three years to complete at a cost of around 18 billion yen, involving the reclamation of about 1.54 million square metres of land and the building of the 970-metre Mishima Ohashi Bridge to the mainland. It replaced the earlier Omura Airport, a wartime aircraft manufacturing and repair site that had been converted to civilian use in 1955 but was limited by a runway of only 1,200 metres. The new airport opened as a Type II airport with a 2,500-metre runway and immediately began jet services to Tokyo and Osaka; the runway was later extended to its current length. International services began in September 1979 with flights to Shanghai, marking the airport's first step into international operations. According to Wikipedia, China Eastern Airlines resumed flights between Nagasaki and Shanghai in October 2023 after a suspension of nearly four years caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nagasaki Airport remains an active domestic and international airport, handling scheduled services to destinations including Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, and regional points such as Iki, Tsushima and Goto Fukue, alongside international flights to Shanghai with China Eastern Airlines.