This has led to the Sanrizuka Struggle, stemming from the government's decision to construct the airport without consulting most residents in the area, as well as expropriating their lands in the process.

Even after the airport was eventually completed, air traffic movements have been controlled under various noise related operating restrictions due to its direct proximity with residential neighborhoods, including a house with a farm that is located right in between the runways.

Haneda, located in Tokyo Bay was surrounded by densely populated residential and industrial areas, and began to suffer capacity and noise issues in the early 1960s as jet aircraft became common.

[10] The site was later moved 5 km (3.1 mi) northeast to the villages of Sanrizuka and Shibayama, where the Imperial Household had a large farming estate.

[13] Many in the "new left" such as Chūkaku-ha opposed building Narita, reasoning that the real purpose for the new airport was to promote capitalism and to provide additional facilities for US military aircraft in the event of war with the Soviet Union.

[14] About 1966, a group of local residents combined with student activists and left-wing political parties formed a popular resistance group, the Sanrizuka-Shibayama Union to Oppose the Airport [ja] (三里塚芝山連合空港反対同盟; Sanrizuka-Shibayama Rengo Kūkō Hantai Dōmei), which remained active until fracturing in 1983 and they started protest activity called Sanrizuka Struggle (三里塚闘争; Sanrizuka tōsō).

[14] Similar strategies had already been employed during the postwar era to block the expansion of Tachikawa Air Base and other US military facilities in Japan.

[15][16][circular reference] The airport opened under a high level of security; the airfield was surrounded by opaque metal fencing and overlooked by guard towers staffed with riot police.

"[17] Protestors attacked police on the opening day with rocks and firebombs while police responded with water cannons; on the other side of Tokyo, a separate group of protestors claimed responsibility for cutting the power supply to an air traffic control facility at Tokorozawa, which shut down most air traffic in the Tokyo area for several hours.

[23] NAA experimented with a new threat detection system for two months in 2013, using a combination of cameras, explosive detectors, dogs and other measures in lieu of passport and baggage checks upon entering the terminal.

In March 2015, NAA announced that the ID checks would cease and the new system would be used for terminal building security, effective as of the end of that month.

The original plan also called for a high-speed rail line, the Narita Shinkansen, to connect the airport to central Tokyo, but this project was also cancelled with only some of the necessary land obtained.

[14] By 1986, the strengthening Japanese yen was causing a surge of foreign business and leisure travel from Japan, which made Narita's capacity shortage more apparent.

However, eight families continued to own slightly less than 53 acres (21 ha) of land on the site that would need to be expropriated in order to complete the other two runways.

[citation needed] To avoid the problems that plagued the first phase, the Minister of Transport promised in 1991 that the expansion would not involve expropriation.

[36] The building remained in place until August 2011, when authorities removed it under a court order; 500 police officers were dispatched to provide security for the operation while 30 airport opponents protested.

[41] Since its construction, Narita has been criticized for its distance from central Tokyo, with journeys taking an hour by the fastest train and often longer by road due to traffic jams.

[citation needed] Through the end of the 1980s, Narita Airport's railway station was located fairly far from the terminal, and passengers faced either a long walk or a bus ride (at an additional charge and subject to random security screenings).

Although the majority of the land and equipment required in order to build the runway are under NAA's ownership, small portions of land needed to be accessed in order to build the runway are still blocked by airport protesters, and areas south of the South Wing of the terminal are being used as aircraft parking and storage.

[46] The final plan, approved in January 2020 and published in December 2021, calls for a 3,500-meter (11,483 ft) runway on the east side of the airport, built over two underground road tunnels, with completion by fiscal year 2028.

Delta shifted its Asian transit hub to Incheon International Airport in collaboration with Korean Air, and transferred all of its Tokyo operations from Narita to Haneda in March 2020.

[56] ANA and Peach domestic flights use a separate area of the terminal accessed from the arrivals floor of the South Wing.

[56] Terminal 2, which opened in 1992, is divided into a main building (本館, honkan) and satellite (サテライト, sateraito), both of which are designed around linear concourses.

It is located 500 metres (1,640 ft) north of Terminal 2, where a cargo building used to sit, has a capacity of 50,000 flights per year and has 11 gates.

[59] The airport also constructed a new LCC apron to the north of the terminal, with five additional parking slots for Airbus A320 and similarly sized aircraft.

[62] Source: Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism[138][139] There are three air traffic control towers at Narita.

[145] Previously NCA had its headquarters on the fourth floor of the Cargo Administration Building (貨物管理ビル, Kamotsu Kanri Biru)).

"Green Car" (first class) seats are available on both trains for an additional surcharge, with both services free of charge with the Japan Rail Pass.

Because so many airlines want to use it, the Japanese aviation authorities extend use time for Narita International Airport until midnight, and cut cost by denationalization.

In October 2010, Narita announced plans to build a new terminal for low-cost carriers (LCCs) and to offer reduced landing fees for new airline service, in an attempt to maintain its competitiveness against Haneda Airport.