NARITA International Airport Corp has announced plans to build a new terminal for budget carriers by March 2015, in anticipation of the fast-growing LCC sector in Japan.

This will be Japan’s second LCC-dedicated air terminal after Osaka’s Kansai International Airport, which is currently under construction.

The new budget terminal will be converted from an existing building, and will feature simple interiors and infrastructure, such as boarding stairs instead of aerobridges, to keep costs down. When completed, it is expected to handle some 7.5 million passengers and up to 50,000 flights per year.

Meanwhile, Narita airport has also begun building additional facilities such as bus gates and check-in counters in preparation of the new LCCs debuting this year.

Jetstar Japan will commence flights from July 3 (TTG Asia e-Daily, April 9, 2012), while AirAsia Japan is expected to launch its first flights in August.