Tourism Foreign tourist surge leads to 2-hour waits at Narita Airport

[thomas]

Narita Airport is experiencing unprecedented congestion at immigration control due to a sharp increase in inbound tourism. Queues stretch over 500 metres and waiting times regularly exceed two hours, worse than levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic. The disruption comes as the Japanese government pushes to raise the number of foreign visitors to 60 million annually. However, immigration officers are struggling to cope with the demand. One official admitted, "Even with all hands on deck, we can't keep up." The bottleneck has raised concerns about Japan's ability to manage rising tourist numbers while maintaining a smooth entry process.

Photo credit: Goda Tsukimi via Mainichi​

Since the government's relaxation of COVID-19 border measures in October 2022, coupled with the weak yen, the number of foreign visitors to Narita Airport has continued to rise. In 2024, the number of foreign passengers using international flights at the airport surpassed 20 million annually for the first time, reaching 21.79 million -- a 20% increase compared to pre-pandemic 2019. The trend continued through January-March 2025, with a 20-40% rise from the same period in 2019. The airport's four immigration halls across three passenger buildings feature over 100 inspection booths. During peak times, staff from other departments are mobilized to open as many booths as possible. Efforts include significantly increasing booths for foreign nationals and separating those for medium- to long-term residents, who require more time, to expedite the process. Despite these measures, wait times have lengthened.

Surge in foreign tourists causing 2-hour wait at Narita Airport immigration control - The Mainichi

NARITA, Chiba -- A surge in the number of inbound tourists has led to unprecedented congestion at immigration control at Narita Airport here, with lin

mainichi.jp

 

[Majestic]

This makes me nervous about my next trip to Japan. It also makes me slightly sad, as I used to breeze past the "foreigner" entry line, and head straight to the "re-entry" line, with no small feeling of superiority. The re-entry line was invariably empty, or at most two people in front of me, but that was rare. It was never a hassle entering Japan. With the introduction of the automated gates sometime in the late 2010s, it was even easier. There was one time when my fingerprints couldn't be read by the machine, and I had to go into a separate room to get vetted, but that was one time in hundreds of entries.

A two-hour wait at Narita would be a dreary complication, especially after a 10-hour flight.

 

[thomas]

On a side note: flights to Europe have now turned into a 15-hour ordeal (e.g. Haneda-Charles de Gaulle).

 

[mdchachi]

Wow, I thought I had it bad when I came into Haneda during hanami season. But I think my wait in line was probably only about 45 minutes.

 

[J-popsy]

I thought 12.5hrs from Frankfurt to Haneda was a trauma. Had hoped return would be shorter.
Customs and immigration was very quick. I used the preregistration digital qr code app. Baggage claim was longer than any bureaucracy.

 

[Lothor]

On a side note: flights to Europe have now turned into a 15-hour ordeal (e.g. Haneda-Charles de Gaulle).

It makes increasing sense to take the southern route to Europe, particularly if you don't have a direct flight to your destination. I recently did Haneda - Istanbul (about 12 h) - Manchester (4 h), which wasn't much longer than the pre-2022 efficient route of going via Amsterdam or somewhere similar.

 

[thomas]

Air France, for example, takes the southern route to Japan and the northern route on the return leg to CDG. I would assume that many Western and Central European airlines follow that pattern.

 

[J-popsy]

Came with Lufhansa, return to Munich with ANA. hope a tail wind!

 

[Ukigumo]

Are these issues ameliorated in Japan's late autumn/winter/early spring or is this a year round phenomenon?

 

[J-popsy]

Maybe if Putin feels so disposed in the near future, he'll open his airspace. It looked like we avoided on the flight here.

 

[thomas]