Oita Airport

is an international airport in Kunisaki City, ÃÂita Prefecture, Japan, northeast of ÃÂita City.

Oita Airport is an offshore airport built on reclaimed coastal waters off the Kunisaki Peninsula. It opened as New Oita Airport in 1971 as a replacement for the old Oita Airport within Oita City. In 2018, the airport had 2.1 million passengers.

In 2021, Virgin Orbit announced plans to use Oita Airport for its launch site. However, the company went bankrupt in 2023. Oita Prefecture plans to continue developing Oita Airport as Japan's first spaceport.

On March 17, 2025, it was announced that Oita Airport would be temporarily renamed "Oita Hello Kitty Airport" during the 2025 World Expo in Osaka.

Access

Oita Airport is connected by bus to various cities throughout the prefecture. The airport is not accessible by train.

Hovercraft

Oita Airport is connected to the prefectural capital, ÃÂita City, by daily hovercraft service.

The hovercraft route was introduced in 1971, but discontinued in 2009 following a decline in ridership. In 2020, it was announced that hovercraft service would be reintroduced at Oita Airport with three new hovercraft. After a series of accidents during training caused a delay of more than a year from the originally scheduled start of operations, regular service began in July 2025. Whereas the route between Oita Airport and ÃÂita City takes about an hour by road, it takes about 35 minutes by hovercraft.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Accidents and incidents

On February 22, 1964, traveling from Kagoshima Airport overran the runway upon landing at the former Oita Airport. The Convair CV-240 then fell into the dried-up Urakawa River, killing 20 of the 42 on board. The accident was caused by pilot error and poor structure of the former Oita Airport leading to closure of the former airport in 1971. There is a memorial for the victims at the site of the old runway.
At 14:10 on 28 January 2024, a HondaJet light business aircraft on a training flight from Oita Airport overshot the runway while landing and came to a stop on nearby grass, forcing the airport's closure for at least an hour and the cancellation of four flights. None of the three people aboard the plane were injured.