Sendai Airport Set to Be Privatized on Friday

Sendai, Miyagi Pref., June 29 (Jiji Press)--Sendai Airport in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, is set to be privatized on Friday. It will be the first among state-managed airports in Japan that switches to private-sector operations. Sendai International Airport Co. will operate the airport located between the cities of Natori and Iwanuma under the contract of up to 65 years. The company was set up jointly by railway operator Tokyu Corp.

, construction company Maeda Corp.

, trading house Toyota Tsusho Corp.

and three other firms. The airport operator aims to attract foreign visitors partly by expanding international flights through such measures as reducing landing fees and setting up new boarding facilities. Inbound demand is increasing in many parts of Japan, but is not so robust in the Tohoku northeastern region including Miyagi. The number of international passenger traffic at Sendai Airport in fiscal 2015, which ended in March, fell 5 pct from the previous year to some 160,000, due to the suspension of some routes, according to a preliminary report. Still, the number of foreigners who stayed overnight or longer in the six prefectures in Tohoku last year surged 44 pct from 2014 to 510,000, rising back above levels before the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit the region, according to the Japan Tourism Agency. In 2010, the number of such foreigners totaled 500,000. The situation surrounding Sendai Airport now appears favorable. On Wednesday, Tigerair Taiwan opened a route between Sendai Airport and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei, becoming the first non-Japanese low-cost carrier to offer regular flights at Sendai Airport. A welcome ceremony was held at Sendai Airport for the arrival of the first Tigerair flight. The regular service launch by the Taiwanese airline is "good news ahead of the privatization of our airport," Takuya Iwai, president of Sendai International Airport, said at the ceremony. "I hope exchanges between Tohoku and Taiwan will deepen." he added. On Tuesday, South Korea's Asiana Airlines started operating a round-trip flight between Sendai Airport and Incheon International Airport near Seoul every day. Previously, Asiana offered such a flight on the route on four days a week. The privatization will "enhance Sendai Airport's functions as a gateway to Tohoku and revitalize the local economy," a financial industry source said.Copyright JIJI PRESS LTD.