The first Akita Airport was opened on October 1, 1961, on the Omonogawa coast of the
Sea of Japan approximately 20 kilometers southeast of the center of Akita City. The airport originally had a 1,200-meter runway, which was extended to 1,500 meters in 1967 and 1,625 meters in 1969, but was adversely affected by crosswinds, and by the television transmission antennas of 123-meter Mount Omoriyama adjacent to the site. The current Akita Airport was opened at its present location (in the former town of
Yūwa in
Kawabe District) on June 26, 1981, and was the first civilian airport in the
Tōhoku region of Japan to have a 2,500-meter runway. In 1985, the
Japan Air Self-Defense Force established a
search and rescue unit based at Akita Airport. As of 2016 it is equipped with
UH-60J and
U-125A aircraft. An international terminal was established on July 5, 1993, beginning scheduled flights to
South Korea. ==Airlines and destinations==