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"Japan Seeks to Make Airports Easier to Access"
Monday, August 11, 2003
Japan Seeks to Make Airports Easier to Access
Japan - Kyodo News
TOKYO--The transport ministry decided Monday to experiment with measures in
fiscal 2004 to get more people to use the nation's airports, paying
particular attention to Kansai International Airport, where growth is
sluggish.
The officials said the measures to be brought in by the Ministry of Land,
Infrastructure and Transport include cutting transportation fares, reducing
the toll for using the bridge to offshore Kansai airport and enhancing
tourist information for foreigners.
The ministry plans to include the funding required for the test program in
its budget request for the next fiscal year.
Standard-sized cars using the access bridge to Kansai airport, off
Izumisano, Osaka, have to pay 1,730 yen for a round trip. Other than airline
passengers, few people use the bridge, according to ministry officials.
Worried about the small number of customers at restaurants and shops in the
airport terminal buildings, the officials hope to encourage more
non-passengers to use the airport by lowering the toll for the bridge.
Under the test program, the ministry plans to see whether it can attract
more users with cheaper tolls during a certain period in the next fiscal
year from April 2004. The central and local governments as well as other
related entities will cover the costs of implementing the program.
To improve access to other airports, the ministry will look at lowering bus
fares or making airports more accessible to rented cars.
The officials will also see if they can help airlines compete with other
forms of transport such as Shinkansen bullet trains.
In an effort to make airports more user-friendly for non-Japanese, the
ministry will put up more signs in foreign languages and establish more
tourist information centers, while improving the level of customs, passport
control and quarantines services.
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