NARITA: Narita International Airport Corp. on Monday unveiled to the media the airport’s expanded terminal for low-cost carriers, which will be put in service in stages from Tuesday.

The annual passenger capacity of Terminal 3, currently used by four such carriers, will rise to 15 million from the current 9 million.

Through the expansion work, the terminal’s floor area was increased to some 110,000 square meters from some 74,000 square meters, while 36 automated check-in machines and 24 self-service baggage drop machines were added.

Furthermore, a new corridor between Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 will be opened, cutting the travel distance to 300 meters from 500 meters.

The LCC terminal at the airport, located east of Tokyo, opened in 2015. Its arrival lobby was expanded in 2019, as the number of passengers using it was more than expected.

In fiscal 2021, which ended in March, the number of passengers at the terminal totaled about 2.9 million, amid the continued coronavirus pandemic.

With passenger demand recovering, especially for domestic flights, the airport operator plans to consider further expanding facilities for LCCs.

JIJI Press