Shinkawa Capital International Airport

Shinkawa Capital International Airport (新川首都国際空港 Shinkawa shuto-koku Kūkō) (IATA: SIK, ICAO: RSCA), is the primary airport of Shinkawa and is being expanded to serve the entire region of Honadō.

Shinkawa Capital handles the vast majority of the international flights intended to serve the Honadō region. In 2011, the airport expanded by adding a third terminal, and also adding a 10,500 foot runway. This allowed for a major increase in service into the airport, with many other Asian and foreign airlines joining in on the service. In 2012, the government planned on expanding the airport to center all major and busy operations in the capital.

Shinkawa Capital is located 81km (50.6mi) from Tōruchi, Shinkawa. The airport currently has 2 parallel runways, with another 1 currently under construction. The airport has 3 terminals, with a fourth one being considered for regional traffic. It is the primary operating hub for Shihai Airways and Sky Yasuku. The airport is quickly seeing more passengers each year, with the addition of more airlines serving the airport. It plans to compete with other airports such as Tokyo-Narita as a stopover to other Asian destinations.

Construction
Shinkawa's old airport, Shinyu Airport (新湯空港 arayu kūkō), had started getting overcrowded in 1998, due to the increase in traffic from Shihaisha National Airlines and All Nippon Airways. It also wasn't up to the security standards at the time. Plans to renovate and expand it were created, but scrapped when development surrounded the airport and funding for the airport was low. The plans were postponed for a new airport's construction for 2001 and even further postponed to 2002 construction due to the September 11 attacks.

In late-2002, construction on Shinkawa Capital was started. It was to be located near the forest due to low development activity in the area. This empty land would allow for future development plans. It was to have 2 terminals and 2 runways. The airport was completed in 2009 and the first flight from Japan Airlines to Tokyo flew in the afternoon during the grand opening day.

Earthquake effects
On March 11, 2011, the airport was greatly affected due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Many flights in and out of the airport were cancelled, and roof panels and pipes had broken and started causing damage to the interiors in Terminal 1. The airport remained closed for 2 weeks after the disaster, and reopened on March 27, 2011. During the time it was closed, plans to renovate Terminal 1 to withstand earthquakes were created and were planned to be completed in 2015-2016. On December 12, 2012, a 7.3 earthquake shook both Japan and Shihaisha, and caused an evacuation of the airport. Many rail routes leading to the airport were shut down for inspection, and flights were delayed. There were no major damages done to the airport.

On February 2, 2013, a 6.9 earthquake originating from Shinkawa itself shook the entire nation. The airport was greatly affected, with all flights cancelled for 2 days due to taxiway damages, and security checkpoint difficulties. The airport also lost electricity and water, and all means of transportation out of the airport were shut down. Passengers in the airport were forced to stay and faculty provided blankets and any food and beverage possible.

Terminal 1
Terminal 1 uses a pier and concourse design. The pier-area of the terminal is usually called the East Pier (東桟橋 azuma sanbashi) while the concourses are usually called the Islands (島嶼 tōsho). All check-in and security stages are handled in the central building of the East Pier. A small duty-free shopping area is located in the East Pier, although a few smaller areas are located in Island 2. There are 33 gates in Terminal 1, all of which are designed to handle short to medium haul flights. Sky Yasuku dominates the majority of the gates (ISL1 - ISL13;EP1 - EP4), while other airlines such as ShihaiExpress, ShihaiNippon, Jetstar Japan, and JAL Express take up the rest of the gates.

Terminal 2
Terminal 2 uses a concourse design. It is nicknamed Terminal Edge (ターミナル·エッジ Tāminaru· ejji) due to it's close position to the edge of the airport's parking lot and highway entrance. It features many restaurants and duty-free shops, the largest of its kind in an airport in Shihaisha. It is a 3 story terminal, and also has access to the airport's control tower. Star Alliance airlines have a major presence in Terminal 2, however a few SkyTeam airlines such as Delta Airlines and Air France have gates in the terminal. There are 19 gates total in Terminal 2.

Terminal 3
Terminal 3 is the international terminal for Shinkawa Capital. It is also the largest terminal in the airport and houses the main duty-free mall and eatery areas. Terminal 3 has 42 gates. It uses a concourse terminal design, with access directly to the Ekusutori Rail station for transportation outside of the airport. The terminal's exterior is similar to that of Tokyo-Haneda Airport. Shihai Airways uses 2 concourses as its home base for international flights. It uses gates M21-M39 for its flights. Star Alliance airlines Lufthansa which uses an A380 from Frankfurt and United Airlines which has a major presence in the airport take up gates M14-M20. Emirates flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to the airport using 777-300 and A380 aircraft respectively.

Cargo facilities
Shinkawa Capital has the largest air cargo facility in the nation. FedEx Express, UPS Airlines, and ANA Cargo use the facility.

Rail
Shinkawa Capital has rail connections serviced by Ekusutori Rail and the Airlink express route.

Ekusutori Rail rains run from Tōruchi Central Station in the Tōruchi district of Shinkawa where passengers can connect to other places in the nation. The Airport Depot is located in the Transportation Center of the airport, and is planned on being expanded. Although, there is 1 Shihai-sen line that travels to Shiroku International Airport, which is a 1 hour ride.

Airlink provides quick service to Shinkawa, Tsumaji, and Chiraku to the airport where they can connect by port (Tsumaji) or other rail routes to reach anywhere further. All trains feature high-tech entertainment features and light-rail trains for quick service.

Inter-terminal transport
Although Terminal 1 and 2 are connected by underground pedestrian corridors, they are separated from Terminal 3 by the large transportation center. When Terminal 4 is completed, it would be located even further away from Terminal 3, and thus airport officials are designing a small people mover system for the airport which will connect Terminal 1 and Terminal 4 with stops in the transportation center and Terminal 2.

Freeways and roads
Shinkawa Capital can be accessed by the FlyAway Express Freeway which enters airport property in between the departure and arrival areas for Terminal 2 and Terminal 3. The 2013 Expansion Plan will add an intersection to allow the freeway to reach the future Terminal 4, which will be located further away from the Transportation Center.

Taxi
GlideCab Taxi Services which operates at other airports in Shihaisha provide taxicab service to passengers at the airport. Most taxicabs wait for users on the 2nd decks of Terminals 2 and 3. GlideCab services as far as downtown Shinkawa.

Future expansion
In early 2013, the Shihaishan Transportation Agency were discussing plans with the AIN in making Shinkawa Capital a mega-airport which would serve nearly all of Shihaisha's major international flights and domestic hub flights. The plans included the addition of a new runway and many new taxiways for access. It also included a whole new terminal dedicated to airlines ShihaiNippon and ShihaiExpress. The current transportation center will be heavily expanded to include more transportation options such as extra rail lines to Japan and Shiroku.

Transportation center
The current transportation center only serves rail connections and taxi centers. The 2013 Expansion Plan will add a multi-level parking structure and the people mover system operated by Airlink. It will also see a new rental car center for those staying in the nation for a long time.

Runway and terminal expansion
In addition to the transportation center expansion, Shinkawa Capital will see an expansion in its facilities. The airport will be adding a new 3,200 meter runway to handle future traffic increase better. Terminal 4 will also be built to house ShihaiNippon and ShihaiExpress planes. The terminal will include small shops for quick snacks on connecting flights.

Notable accidents and incidents
*2013: On February 3, Japan Airlines Flight 666, a 747-400 aircraft from New Holland, crashed into a nearby forest area surrounding the airport. The crash caused terrorist suspicions and shut the airport down for the rest of the day. The plane had crashed due to engine malfunctions and caused the plane to crash. 214 passengers had died, however there were many survivors too.