New Chitose Airport

New Chitose Airport is Hokkaido's principal international gateway and the largest airport in northern Japan, handling more than 20M passengers in peak pre-pandemic years and consistently ranking among Japan's five busiest airports by domestic passenger volume. Located 30 mi (48 km) south of Sapporo city center at 82 ft (25 m) elevation near the city of Chitose, the airport handles 96 routes across 39 destinations through 36 airlines. CTS is the aviation lifeline for Hokkaido — Japan's northernmost main island, home to roughly 5.2M residents — and by far the dominant access point for the island's globally significant ski tourism industry centered on Niseko, Rusutsu, Furano, and Kiroro. The Haneda–Chitose route is one of the busiest airline city pairs in the world, consistently ranking in the global top ten by seats and frequency, served by JAL, ANA, Skymark, AirDo (a Hokkaido-based carrier using CTS as its hub), Peach, and Jetstar Japan. International service focuses heavily on East Asia, with scheduled operations to Seoul–Incheon, Busan, Taipei–Taoyuan, Hong Kong, Shanghai–Pudong, Beijing, multiple secondary Chinese cities, Bangkok, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, and Manila — the international mix shifts seasonally with significant December–March ski-season capacity from Australia, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Korean Air, Asiana, China Airlines, EVA Air, Hong Kong Airlines, and AirAsia all operate regular service. The airfield has two parallel asphalt runways — 01L/19R and 01R/19L, both 9,843 ft (3,000 m) — capable of independent simultaneous operations and full widebody service. Two passenger terminals operate in connected fashion: the much larger domestic terminal and the international terminal, linked by a short covered walkway. The domestic building is renowned for its extensive post-security retail, dining, observation decks, Hokkaido-focused food courts, an onsen (natural hot-spring bath), cinema, and themed shopping — features that make CTS itself a minor tourist destination and one of Japan's most retail-dense airports. The airport is connected directly by rail to downtown Sapporo, making transit between the two unusually convenient for a major international gateway.