The Building of Kansai Airport (KIX)
12-17-2013
Building KIX 2
My selected topic is based on module 7 and is focused on building one of the most complex and interesting airports in the world. This airport has been on many television broadcasts, and had been the marvel of many in the industry, such as myself, for years. Being a Delta employee, it is even more interesting after beginning service and having the opportunity to visit this man made modern marvel.
Building KIX 3
Limitations on the existing airport in the Kansai region of Osaka in the mid 1980’s rendered it completely ineffective, and not sustainable for the future. The Kansai region includes not only Osaka, the second largest city of Japan and a major commercial center, but also the major cities of Kyoto and Kobe. The old airport was hemmed in by urban development in more ways than one. The urban development prevented any expansion, but it also restricted the hours of use because of the aircraft noise in the late hours of the night would disturb the sleep of the residents in the vicinity of the airport.
These are some of the reasons that sent the Japanese government into a massive research project in the mid 1980’s. The airport authorities considered finding a land site for a new airport, but they looked at the experience of Tokyo in building the Narita Airport. The protests of the farmers to the forced sale of their land mobilized a movement that delayed the completion of the airport for years. After visiting NRT many times, and seeing the unrest that still exists and the amount of riot security forces that are required to keep the peace – I have to say that I agree that this would not have been a route that I chose either.
Since there is no island in Osaka Bay where the airport was needed, one would have to be built. That authorities knew that it would be
References: Boeing.com (News Release 2013). Boeing Reports Record Revenue and Backlog and Provides 2013 Guidance http://www.boeing.com/assets/pdf/news/releases/2013/q1/130130_nr.pdf Career Builder (2012). Pilot: A Hot Job in Aviation http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-3519-Job-Info-and-Trends-Pilot-A-hot-job-in-aviation/ Planetechs. Aircraft Manufacturing Jobs http://www.planetechs.com/Aircraft-Manufacturing-Jobs