OSAKA -- With Kobe airport due to open next year, joining Kansai International Airport and the domestic hub in Itami, Kansai's business and government leaders have formed a committee to figure out how to effectively operate the region's three airports.
But critics fear the committee will fail to address the concerns of foreign airlines using Kansai airport, and that its formation will do little to prevent both international and domestic airline business from shifting to other airports outside the Kansai region.
The committee was officially formed in December. It came into being after several years of tensions between Kansai officials, the central government and foreign airlines over the need for both Kobe airport and the second phase of construction at Kansai airport.