Kansai Airports announced the public unveiling of the refurbished Kansai International Airport Terminal 1 international flight area set to reopen on December 5.
The departure area will feature walk-through duty-free shops and four distinct zones with different atmospheres, welcoming a total of 27 new stores. Additionally, the consolidation of the previously separated north and south immigration inspection areas into a central location aims to alleviate congestion.
The new international departure area spans approximately 10,000 square meters. The commercial zone is centered around the Plaza Area, with the “Fun” and “Curious” zones to the north and “Active” and “Peaceful” zones to the south. Shops matching the atmosphere and design of each area have been placed accordingly. The “Fun” area features the baby goods store “Mikihouse”, onigiri shop “OnigiriBurger”, cafe “Pronto”, and character goods store “Anime hunt”. The “Curious” zone includes luxury brand “Louis Vuitton”, beer cafe “KIX BEER”, ramen shop “MENSHO”, and souvenir store “Kansai Travelogue”. The “Active” area has high-end brand “DIOR”, “Segafredo Café”, sushi establishment “Tsukiji Maguroya”, and select shops “Canadian Morning & TOKO” and “Japan Tech”. The “Peaceful” zone offers traditional crafts at “Ippinsan”, soups at “Soup Gogyo”, Japanese cuisine at “Japan’s Dining hall”, and drugstore “Cocokara Fine”. There is also the “Premium Cafe & Bar” with views of the apron area, among other new openings.
The walk-through ‘KIX DUTY FREE’ is set to be the largest of its kind in a Japanese international airport at about 2,500 square meters, offering products from 341 domestic and international brands, including cosmetics, perfumes, alcohol, cigarettes, and confectionery souvenirs. It will host brands making their first duty-free appearance in a Japanese airport.
The reorganization of the immigration inspection area aims to ease overall congestion without changing the number of manned booths, automated gates, or facial recognition gates. According to Kansai Airports, there has been a tendency for south inspection areas to become more congested previously.
Kansai International Airport has been renovating its facilities since 2021 in anticipation of growing international flight demand. The renovation is divided into four phases, with the domestic flight area reopening on October 26, 2022, marking the first phase. The refurbishment of the international flight area represents the second phase. The third phase, scheduled for spring 2025, will coincide with the Osaka-Kansai Expo, introducing new international lounges and security checkpoints. Finally, in autumn 2026, the fourth phase will see the opening of additional commercial facilities in the international departure area, ultimately expanding the area to about 16,000 square meters.
Notice
This article was generated using automatic translation by GPT-4 API. The translation may not be accurate.
