Ibaraki Airport · Hyakuri Airfield 茨城空港 · 百里飛行場 Ibaraki Kūkō · Hyakuri Hikōjō
IATA:IBR ICAO:RJAH
Summary
Airport type	Military/Public
Operator	JASDF
Serves	Mito, Japan
Location	Omitama, Ibaraki,Japan
Elevation AMSL	107 ft / 33 m
Coordinates	36°10′54″N140°24′53″E / 36.18167°N 140.41472°E /36.18167; 140.41472
Website	Ibaraki Airport
Map
IBR/RJAH Location in Japan Show map of Ibaraki Prefecture IBR/RJAH IBR/RJAH (Japan) Show map of Japan
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 03L/21R 2,700 8,858 Concrete 03R/21L 2,700 8,858 Concrete
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 538,227 Cargo (metric tonnes) 300 Aircraft movement 4,992
Source: JapaneseMinistry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism[1]

Ibaraki Airport (茨城空港,Ibaraki Kūkō) is anairport in the city ofOmitama,Ibaraki Prefecture,Japan. It also serves as anair base for theJapan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) under the nameHyakuri Air Base, and is the closest fighter base to Tokyo. The airport was known asHyakuri Airfield (百里飛行場,Hyakuri Hikōjō) prior to March 2010, whencivil aviation operations began.^[2]

The airport is located about 85 km (53 mi) north ofTokyo, and is intended to serve as a low-cost alternative to Tokyo's largerNarita andHaneda airports. Built as a result of large public investment, the airport has been criticized as being a symbol ofwasteful government spending and as being unnecessary, opening with only one flight per day.^[3]

As of 2023, a total of eight routes operate from the airport, all bylow-cost carriers.^[4] One advantage of Ibaraki is its closer access toTsukuba Science City (via roadway), which has the highest concentration of technology firms in Japan. The airport currently has no advantage overNarita airport in public transport into Tsukuba, with both taking 1 hour.^[5]

In May 2020, in order to attract more foreign visitors, Ibaraki Prefectural Government planned to adopt the English nickname "Tokyo Ibaraki International Airport" for overseas promotion.^[6][7] However, due to the overwhelming opposition, the government ultimately chose the name "Ibaraki International Airport" in June 2020.^[8]

The airfield was first developed by theImperial Japanese Navy in 1937, with much of the land claimed from local farmers under the orders of EmperorHirohito. Unlike many other Japanese military bases, it did not become a US base during theoccupation. After the end ofWorld War II, the locals reclaimed the land and resumed farming the land. The base was reopened in 1956 by theJapan Air Self-Defense Force, which took control of the land once again. Many farmers who live around the base have refused to sell their lands to the government to enable expansion of the airfield.^[9]

In September 1976 theMiG-25 Foxbat flown by thedefecting Soviet pilotVictor Belenko toHakodate Airport in Hokkaido was moved to Hyakuri by a US Air ForceC-5 Galaxy. Despite strong Soviet protests, the Soviet aircraft was extensively examined and disassembled before being returned to the Soviet Union.^[10]

In February 1998Chi Haotian, the-then Chinesedefense minister, visited the base among other military sites in Japan.^[11]

In 2001 aircraft from Hyakuri were involved in interceptingTupolev Tu-22M bombers of theRussian Air Force that had entered Japanese airspace.^[12]

In 2005 Japan and the US agreed to move some USAFF-15 fighter drills fromKadena Air Base in Okinawa to decrease the burden on that prefecture. Drills were to be moved to five other bases around the country -Chitose in Hokkaido, Hyakuri in Ibaraki Prefecture,Komatsu in Ishikawa Prefecture,Tsuiki in Fukuoka Prefecture andNyutabaru in Miyazaki Prefecture.^[13] In 2005 USAF F-15 aircraft fromKadena Air Base in Okinawa deployed to the base as part of exercise Keen Sword 2005.^[14]

In April 2006 the Omitama city assembly unanimously opposed the F-15 training taking place at Hyakuri.^[15]

In May 2006 the US and Japan agreed to transfer part of the drills to the bases including Hyakuri with the US deploying to each base two or three times per year from 2007,^[16][17] with Japan footing 75% of the cost.^[18] US military personnel sometimes use the base for training or exchange programs.^[19][20][21]US Navy aircraft sometimes visit the base also, withF/A-18E Super Hornets ofVFA-195 based atNaval Air Facility Atsugi inKanagawa Prefecture deploying there briefly in 2016.^[22]

In January 2016 the JASDF used threeKawasaki T-4 trainers from the airport to collect radioactive material after North Korean'sfourth nuclear test, which North Korea claimed was a hydrogen bomb test.^[23]

In October 2017 an F-4EJ Kai Phantom II of302nd Tactical Fighter Squadron caught fire on the ground after its landing gear malfunctioned. There were no injuries.^{[24][25][26][27]}

The Hyakuri Peace Park is located in the air base. The main taxiway used by the air base goes around it.^[9]

Hyakuri Air Base holds an annual air show in December featuring displays of military aircraft from the base as well as other equipment. There is a display byBlue Impulse, the JASDF aerobatic team.^[28][29]

In March 2010, after a 22 billion yen ($243 million) local and national government investment, the airfield was renamed to Ibaraki Airport, andcivil aviation operations began. At the time of opening, Ibaraki offered two flights, anAsiana service toSeoul,South Korea, and toKobe in western Japan, bySkymark Airlines. The original plans for a three-story terminal with separate arrivals, departures, and sightseeing levels was scrapped by the governor ofIbaraki Prefecture,Masaru Hashimoto, who ordered the building to be reduced to one story in height, to reduce costs. The airport will eschewjetways, with passengers boarding planes from the tarmac. Additional cost-cutting measures, intended to allow the airport to charge lowerlanding fees than those at Narita and Haneda, include the use of aircraft parking procedures that reduce or eliminate the need forpushback tractors, and the possibility of having the passengers carry their own luggage to the aircraft, a practice used at some regional airports in theUnited States.^[30]

Interest in the airport has been expressed by the Malaysian carrierAirAsia X^[31][32][33] as well as Korean airlineAsiana,^[34] but only the latter has committed to flying out of the airport on a fixed basis.^[35]TransAsia Airways has committed to flights to and fromTaipei'sTaoyuan Airport on a semi-regular basis from March to May. During the May holiday, charters to Guam, Cebu, Bali, and Hainan will operate out of the airport. Also, China-based low-cost carrierSpring Airlines has chosen this airport as its Tokyo-area destination with its recent approval for international flying. It planned to run three charter flights a week from Shanghai-Pudong starting from about the end of July 2010 for about two months, switching to scheduled flights at the end of this period (around the end of the World Expo).^[36] However, it has started selling seats on the charters in the same manner as a normal flight since September 2010, much like the early Hongqiao-Haneda "scheduled charters" and has operated the flight as a scheduled service starting from 2011. In addition, it has now increased service to five flights a week.

As of March 2011, flights to Shanghai were operating at 80% capacity and the flights to Kobe at 50% capacity.^[37] On March 11, 2011, the roof of one of the terminals came down in the2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami but was quickly repaired.

A total of 860,000 people visited the airport terminal in its first year^[38] with 203,070 of those being traveling passengers.^[39]

Asiana Airlines ceased operations fromIncheon International Airport to Ibaraki Airport following the 2011 disaster.^[40]

In August 2013,Myanmar Airways International signed a letter of intent to begin thrice-weekly direct "program charter" service between Yangon and Ibaraki by December 2013. MAI stated that they wished to avoid the overcrowding of Narita and Kansai Airport, and that Ibaraki Prefecture waged a year-long lobbying campaign which included visits to the Myanmar ambassador in Tokyo. This flight was to be the second regularly scheduled flight between Japan and Myanmar (the first beingAll Nippon Airways service between Narita and Yangon).^[40] However, as of 2017, the program charter service between Yangon and Ibaraki has not yet started.

Buses connect Ibaraki Airport with various train stations in Ibaraki prefecture andTokyo station.

• City buses
  • Passengers who stay at a hotel in Ibaraki are entitled to a free single journey on one of the following buses:

• Highway buses

As of 2017, all of the remainingF-4 Phantom II aircraft belonging to theJASDF operate from Hyakuri Air Base. As such it has become popular amongaviation photographers and enthusiasts.^{[56][57][58][59][60][61][62]}

• 7th Air Wing
  • 3rd Tactical Fighter Squadron (Mitsubishi F-2A/B,Kawasaki T-4)

• Air Rescue Wing Hyakuri Detachment (UH-60J,U-125A)

Media related toIbaraki Airport at Wikimedia Commons
Media related toHyakuri Air Base at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• 百里飛行場民間共用化 (Omitama City)(in Japanese)
• いばらきの空港・百里飛行場／茨城県企画部空港対策室 (Ibaraki Prefecture)(in Japanese)
• 関東地方整備局予算の概要 (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)(in Japanese)
• 国土交通省関東地方整備局港湾空港部 (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport)(in Japanese)
• Current weather for RJAH atNOAA/NWS
• (in Japanese),Japan Air Self-Defense Force

• Airports established in 2010
• Airports in Ibaraki Prefecture
• Japan Air Self-Defense Force bases
• 2010 establishments in Japan
• Omitama
• Military airbases established in 1937

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