Kansai Airports is to conduct the grand opening of the newly renovated Terminal 1 at Kansai International Airport (KIX) on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Renovating Terminal 1
Phase 1, in October 2022, saw the airport operator opening the new domestic area, followed by Phase 2, the new international area, in December 2023. An immigration checkpoint will also be completed in March 2025, ahead of the grand opening. Now, with the completion of the terminal’s main functions, the airport will celebrate the grand opening.
The KIX Terminal 1 renovation was carried out with the primary goals of expanding international flight capacity, enhancing the airside area and improving the passenger experience. By redesigning the layout of the international and domestic areas, expanding security checkpoints and improving the commercial areas after passport control for departure, the airport is improving customer convenience and its capacity to serve them.
As a result, KIX will have the capacity to handle approximately 40 million international passengers (arrivals and departures combined). The renovation will ensure that the airport can provide comfort and hospitality to all visitors, especially with the anticipated increase in traffic during the Osaka-Kansai Expo, transforming KIX into the gateway airport of Kansai.
11 new stores
In the lead-up to the grand opening in March, KIX will open 11 new stores in Terminal 1. The new stores include a wide range of offerings such as food, beverage, retail, duty-free products and services. Level 3 will see a pair of KIX Duty Free Arrival Shops – one in the south international arrival commercial area and one in the north international arrival commercial area.
March 18 will see Nihonbashi Tendon Kaneko Hannosuke opening in the commercial area on Level 2 to serve tempura and tempura rice bowls. Lawson Station, a 24-hour convenience store, will be available to customers from March 18 in the commercial area of Level 4. Gowell Select will also be in this area, providing passengers with travel goods and character goods. One Village, One Product will offer customers products from developing countries.
Other new retail offerings include Gacha-Matsuri and its capsule toys, as well as foreign currency exchange brand KIX Currency Exchange. March 18 will also see a range of outlets for wi-fi rental and sim cards, including Global WiFi, Imoto no WiFi and Telecom Square.
In related news, foreign currency exchange company Travelex has opened a new store on the fourth level of Kansai International Airport (KIX) Terminal 1 (T1). Click here to read the full story.