A major airport which transports over 30 million passengers a year is reportedly sinking into the sea.
Kansai International Airport in Osaka, which serves as the main hub to reach Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, is battling against persistent subsidence.
The £14/$19 billion airport was built across two artificial islands in Osaka Bay and celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024.
Its unique design is engineered to withstand seismic activity, including runways that bend during an earthquake to reduce the risk of a fracture.
Kansai International Airport has also picked up a few awards in its time including the Skytrax prize for the World’s Best Baggage Handling, due to its impressive record of never having lost a bag in 30 years.
But the award-winning airport is now under threat of disappearing into the sea.
The weight of the airport’s infrastructure is thought to be putting the clay and silt seabed it sits on under pressure.
According to Essential-Japan, the major airport has sunk by more than 11.5m/38 feet since it opened.
Kansai International Airport in Osaka, which serves as the main hub to reach Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, is battling against persistent subsidence
The £14/$19 billion airport was built across two artificial islands in Osaka Bay and celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024
The rate of the airport’s sinking is thought to be much higher than engineers initially predicted.
First estimates predicted that the airport would sink by around eight metres/26 feet over 50 years but that has already been surpassed.
In 2018, Kansai Airport was forced to close when it was cut off during Typhoon Jebi.
The airport’s runways were hit by surging flood water and the bridge connecting it to the mainland was damaged.
Essential-Japan states that the airport has since heightened its sea wall to mitigate future flood risks.
Despite the subsidence threat, Kansai International Airport has recently renovated Terminal 1 in anticipation of increased demand ahead of Expo 2025, a major design event in Osaka set to open on April 13.
Kansai Airports Group said it would ‘continue to meet the growing demand for air travel and create new travel experiences’.
