The Kansai International Airport was built on a man-made 4 km by 2.5 km island in the Osaka Bay.
Almost thirty airlines fly to Kansai International Airport from cities throughout Asia as well as to Europe and the US.
Construction began in 1987 to ease congestion on the Osaka International Airport. It took almost ten years and $15 billion dollars to construct the island, the terminals and runway, making Kansai International airport the most expensive construction project ever. This huge expense was caused by excessive sinking of the artificial island and for protective measure against earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons. It seems to have been worth it because when the major Kobe earthquake struck just 20 km away the airport came through without any major damage: even the glass in the windows remained intact.
Most flights from Kansai International Airport are to Tokyo and to Seoul but there are many more flights to other destinations as well, most of them by Japan Airlines. These are the most popular destinations from Kansai International Airport: