Narita Airport sees record number of foreign passengers in December
The number of foreign passengers on international flights to and from Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture, rose 3% from a year earlier to 2,108,313 in December, hitting a record high for the month, the airport's operator said in a preliminary report Thursday.
"(The number of) foreign passengers remained firm, especially tourists," Narita International Airport President Naoki Fujii said at a news conference.
However, the number of flights between the airport and China fell 18% to 2,122, following the Chinese government's request for its citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan.
In January, the monthly number of China flights had totaled 1,524 as of Saturday, down 27%. "The pace of decrease is accelerating," Fujii said.
Ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in February, he said, "We need to keep a close eye on how the situation develops."
In December, the total number of domestic and international flights to and from Narita Airport increased 4% to 3,649,542.
For all of 2025, the number of passengers using the airport rose 6% from the previous year to 42,255,291. Of the total, the number of foreign passengers on international flights climbed 10% to 23,906,893, marking a record high.
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