Faced with a drop in demand from global carriers, Narita International Airport is increasingly focusing on domestic flights, particularly those run by low-cost carriers.
The shift is inevitable. In spring 2014, the government increased the slots available at Haneda airport in Tokyo, and airlines leaped at the chance to transfer their long-haul international flights to the center of the capital instead of Chiba Prefecture.
As a result, the number of international passengers who used Haneda that August surged 43.2 percent from a year earlier to 1.07 million, while Narita logged a 6.5 percent drop to 2.59 million, according to preliminary data compiled by the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry. August is the busiest period for air travel.