is an airport located off the coast of Ōmura, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. The airport was the first airport in the world to be built on the ocean, using an existing small island located in the center of Ōmura Bay, with land areas that were fully reclaimed.

Nagasaki Airport was built to replace the former airport called Omura Airport, which was located on the mainland and had a shorter runway of . The former airport was transferred to the Japan Self-Defense Force in 2011, and was renamed into Omura Air Base.

Oriental Air Bridge, a regional airline is based at the airport.

History

thumb|Aerial photograph of Nagasaki Airport under construction taken in 1974; the year before it opened. The former airport is located in the top right corner.

The mainland portion of the airport opened as an Imperial Japanese Navy airfield in 1923, and served as the main base for the now defunct 21st Naval Air Base. During World War II, several aircraft factories were constructed near the airfield and the base was used extensively for manufacturing and repairing many aircraft. After the war, the airfield was converted into a civilian airport and was named Omura Airport (大村空港) in 1955. The terminal building was completed four years later in 1959.

All Nippon Airways began flying to Nagasaki from Fukuoka in May 1959.

In the 1960s, Nagasaki Prefecture was considering building a new airport due to the shift in jet-powered aircraft and due to the number of flights increasing at the airport. Initially, the prefecture planned to expand the former airport, but the plan was abandoned, due to geographical issues.

The current island runway and terminal opened on May 1, 1975, and became Japan's first full-scale airport built over water.

Nagasaki's first international service, to Shanghai, commenced in September 1979 and the main runway was extended from 2,500 m to its current length on the following year.

The mainland portion of the airport was abolished in 2011 and was transferred to the Japan Self-Defense Forces, where it was renamed into Omura Air Base.

Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hong Kong Express and China Eastern Airlines operated international flights to and from Hong Kong and Shanghai respectively. In February 2020, the two airlines suspended operations, and international flights at the airport temporarily ceased to exist. In October 2023, China Eastern Airlines resumed flights between Nagasaki and Shanghai after three years and eight months of absence. However, the twice-weekly service was suspended in December 2025 amid political tensions between Japan and China, and remains cancelled through the summer of 2026.

Korean Air reactivated its Seoul-Nagasaki route in October 2024 after an 11-year hiatus. Jeju Air commenced a scheduled service between Muan and Nagasaki in December 2024, but cancelled it after only nine round trips in the wake of the Jeju Air Flight 2216 disaster. Air Busan operated a scheduled service between Busan and Nagasaki from January to April 2026, when the route was suspended due to operational issues despite having a load factor around 90 percent.

Airlines and destinations

<!-- Please use only independent sources. The airport and airlines itself are not independent sources. -->

Statistics

{| class="wikitable"

! Year !! Total passengers

|-

! 1998

| 3,090,345

|-

! 1999

| 3,056,828

|-

! 2000

| 2,958,058

|-

! 2001

| 2,846,646

|-

! 2002

| 2,853,510

|-

! 2003

| 2,834,289

|-

! 2004

| 2,637,308

|}

Ground and water transportation

Bus

200px|right|thumb|Limousine bus operated by the Nagasaki Prefectural Bus

Several bus companies connect the airport from the cities of Nagasaki, Isahaya, Sasebo, Shimabara, and their surrounding stations.

Ferry

The airport ferry, which is operated by connects the town of Togitsu and the Huis Ten Bosch theme park.

Accidents and incidents

  • On July 26, 2008 at 5:25 PM, a privately owned small plane (SOKATA TB-10 manufactured by Aérospatiale) crashed into Ōmura Bay 300 meters from the airport shortly after takeoff. All three passengers were rescued, but one suffered severe injuries and died two days later.
  • On June 29, 2017 at around 10:30 AM, a small plane used for pilot training owned by Sojo University (Beechcraft Baron 58) landed at the airport without extending its landing gear. The airport was closed for over three hours and 18 flights were cancelled. All three passengers on board were unharmed.

<gallery>

Image:Nagasaki Airport Omura Nagasaki pref Japan05n.jpg_|The airport's control tower

Image:Nagasaki Airport - 2022 March 29 various 14 12 11 546000.jpeg|Airport apron

Image:Nagasaki Airport Omura Nagasaki pref Japan31n.jpg_|Check-in counters

Image:Nagasaki Airport Omura Nagasaki pref Japan16n.jpg|Observation deck

Image:Nagasaki.airports.aerial shoot2.jpg|Aerial view of the airport (2021)

</gallery>

References

  • Nagasaki Airport
  • Nagasaki Airport Guide from Japan Airlines
  • Accident history for NGS at Aviation Safety Network