The number of takeoffs and landings at Japan's main international airport hit an all-time high of about 212,000 in fiscal 2012, up 13 percent from the previous year, Narita International Airport Corp. said Thursday.
The company attributed the growth mainly to a surge in domestic flights caused by the addition of low-cost carriers using Narita airport.
Takeoffs and landings there topped 200,000 for the first time since the airport opened in 1978, the company said.
Domestic flights accounted for about 39,000 of the total, up 69 percent, while international flights accounted for about 173,000, up 5 percent.
The number of passengers who used Narita airport in the reporting year stood at 33.43 million, up 16 percent from fiscal 2011.
Makoto Natsume, president of the airport operator, said at a news conference that the Senkaku Islands dispute and the grounding of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner caused numerous cancellations during the year but that LCCs help stimulate demand at Narita airport.