Fukuoka Airport guide

Fukuoka Airport is the main gateway to Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island, sitting in Hakata-ku only 3 kilometres from Hakata Station in central Fukuoka. The site began as Mushiroda Airfield, built by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1944, and was used afterward by the United States Air Force as Itazuke Air Base. Civilian service started in 1951 with a route linking Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka, and the airfield returned fully to Japanese civil control in 1972.

Fukuoka International Airport Co., Ltd. — a consortium led by Fukuoka Airport Holdings with Nishi-Nippon Railroad, Changi Airports International, Mitsubishi Corporation and Kyushu Electric Power — has run the airport since April 2019 under a 30-year concession from the national government. In 2024 the airport handled roughly 26.8 million passengers and 186,000 aircraft movements on its original single 2,800-metre runway, making it the fourth-busiest passenger airport in Japan and one of the world's busiest single-runway airports; a second, 2,500-metre parallel runway opened in March 2025.

The domestic and international terminals stand on opposite sides of the runway complex, linked by a free shuttle bus; the domestic side also connects directly to the Fukuoka City Subway, putting central Fukuoka about five minutes away by train. Skytrax has certified the airport a 5-Star Regional Airport, and its close-in location makes it one of the most centrally placed international airports in the world.