A new satellite facility with six boarding gates is unveiled on Tuesday at Tokyo's Haneda airport. (Photo: Kyodo)
A new satellite facility with six boarding gates was unveiled on Tuesday at Tokyo's Haneda airport ahead of its September launch amid growing air travel demand.
The North Satellite Facility of Terminal 1 marks the first large-scale expansion since the terminal's launch in September 1993. The hybrid structure uses steel and about 1,800 cubic metres of timber to reduce its environmental impact, according to Haneda's operator, Japan Airport Terminal Co.
The new facility will also increase passenger convenience. Coming with a lounge and a kids' area, it offers self-driving vehicles for help getting around, including "iino," which can carry up to four people and is available free of charge.
With the Japanese government aiming to raise the number of foreign visitors to 60 million in 2030, Haneda airport users exceeded 90 million last year for the first time. The number of takeoffs and landings reached approximately 490,000, the upper limit for flight capacity.
