Airport type Public Elevation AMSL 159 ft / 48 m 1,500 4,921 Elevation 167 m | 02/20 1,500 Code MMD Phone +81 9802-2-2546 | |
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Similar 琉球エアーコミューター株式会, ホテル吉里, Minamida Village Office, 南大東村役場 空港管理事務所, （株）グレイスラム 本社工場 | ||
Minamidaito Airport (南大東空港, Minamidaitō Kūkō, (IATA: MMD, ICAO: ROMD)) is an airport in Minamidaitō, Shimajiri District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
The prefecture operates the airport, which is classified as a third class airport.
Only a round flight from Naha, to Minami-Daito and Kitadaitō, back to Naha is operated every day. The route differs on the day of the week. Flight from Kitadaito to Minamidaitō is the shortest flight in Japan, costs JPY¥7,600, and is only 12 km (7.5 mi) long, takes 3 minutes in the air.
History
The original Minamidaito Airport began as an air base for the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1934. The first civilian operations began in March 1961. The runway was repaired in June 1963 and expanded to 1,200 meters in December 1968 in order to accommodate NAMC YS-11 aircraft. However, with the reversion of the island to Japanese control in 1972, it was found that the approach way was not in conformance with Japanese Aviation Law, so the runway needed to be treated as shorter than its actual length. A new 800 meter runway was completed in August 1974.
The airport was relocated to its present location and upgraded to accommodate larger flights in July 1997 with the present 1500 meter runway.