The First Runway Was Built in 1926 by the Townspeople.
In the fall of 1926, the first flight landed in Chitose. This all began when the Chitose village government assisted in planning a conference sponsored by the Otaru Shinbunsha (newspaper company). Otaru Shinbunsha decided to land its aircraft in Chitose and publicize the event to the people of Chitose. This led to the construction of a runway. About 150 villagers dug up the field with axes, spades and hoes, and horses pulled rollers to level the earth. The event that they were all waiting for finally happened at 1:20 p.m. on October 22. The Hokkai Ichigo, a propeller-driven aircraft, landed on the runway. 11 years later, the premises became a Naval Air Force base, and in 1951 it began operating as a commercial airport. A terminal building was built adjacent to the Chitose Airport in 1963, and in 1992 the facilities were renamed as the New Chitose Airport.
