Some 600 people joined a ceremony Sunday to mark the opening of New Kitakyushu Airport, the floating airfield that will start operating next week in the Seto Inland Sea off Fukuoka Prefecture.
The airport, aimed at business travelers, is anchored in the Suo Sea off the coast of Kitakyushu, Kyushu's second-largest city, and will operate on a 21-hour cycle from 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. starting Thursday.