Tokyo's Haneda Airport will soon have all its runways open and operational once again, with the final one, which has been closed since a fatal collision involving a Japan Airlines jetliner earlier this week, set to reopen at midnight on Sunday.
The collision with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft and the prolonged closure of one of four runways at Japan's busiest airport forced the cancellation of more than 1,200 flights and affected more than 200,000 passengers during the New Year holiday season.
The wreckage of the JAL passenger jet was removed from Runway C, and the necessary restoration work, which included laying fresh pavement to sections damaged by the accident, has been completed, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
Of the four runways at Haneda Airport, a key gateway for international travelers with good access to central Tokyo, Runway C is well-suited for the departures and arrivals of large passenger jets, especially during winter when airplanes can touch down and take off southward, facing north winds.
The accident, which occurred on Tuesday evening, forced the temporary closure of all four runways at Haneda airport. Three other runways were reopened later that night.
While all 379 people aboard the JAL Airbus A350 escaped without life-threatening injuries, five of the six people aboard the coast guard's Bombardier DHC8-300 aircraft were killed in the collision.
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