Updated 19 Jun 2025, Singapore - Japan is upgrading to a “New Narita Airport” to welcome more passengers, beyond its recent 40 millionth visitor.

It is also building a blueprint for the future of airport services.

Key upgrades at the Narita International Airport (NAA) to be expected include:

• One central terminal to simplify processes e.g. check-ins

• Additional train station to connect NAA to Tokyo’s city center.

• Increase flight capacity to 340,000  from 300,000 (by the winter of 2025), and to 500,000 (by March 2029)

This flight capacity increase will be supported by a new 3,500m runway - Runway C - which is expected to be completed by March 2029. In addition, its current Runway B will be extended to 3,500m from the current 2,500m.

Nearly 75 percent of the NAA’s users are international passengers, so these solutions are designed to ease airport congestion and reduce confusion experienced by first-time visitors to NAA, said Tamura Akihiko, President and Chief Executive Officer of Narita International Airport Corporation.

Connecting Stakeholders With Data

Motomiya illustrated a scenario when ecosystemic data could influence the design of airports and its services.

A group of 50 tourists checks out of a hotel, and expect to proceed to NAA by bus.

At the point of checkout, the data is captured at the hotel and “fed” into a data ecosystem that links NAA, a concierge bus company, and companies that provide related services. 

The bus operator notices that the group size exceeds 42 people, the maximum holding capacity of each bus. He is able to arrange for two buses to pick up the tourists and advise on pick-up points.

At the same time, NAA’s operations team would be able to estimate the time of arrival of this group of passengers - as well as other incoming groups - and prepare for possible congestion at check-in counters. 

However, one of the tourists notices that she has not purchased a promised gift. At her request, her bus then stops at a nearby shop to allow her to make the purchase. The bus then sends a signal to the data ecosystem, informing all stakeholders of the delay. 

Over time, when stakeholders notice a build-up of similar actions, retailers and hotel operators could consider offering such gifts either at the hotel or at the shops located within the airport.

Motomiya explained that with Japan facing a shortage of manpower, a robust data-sharing environment is critical to long-term operational success. 

For this to work, it is advantageous to connected stakeholders to think of Mobility-As-A-Service (MAAS) not only within buildings, but as an ecosystem connecting critical services over a wider geographical area.