First challenge since the opening of the port “Challenge to unknown cargo handling” September 10, 16:18

Security to prevent hospitality and terrorism by volunteers. At Narita Airport, Japan's empty gateway, preparations are underway for next year's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. However, there seems to be a problem unique to these tournaments on the backside of the airport, where passengers can not usually see. It is completely “unknown” for Narita Airport, which opened in 1978 after the last Tokyo Games.
(Chiba Broadcasting Station Narita Branch Reporter Teppei Yamashita)

Horse, gun, canoe, boat ...

In the early morning of August 7, one cargo plane arrived at Narita Airport. There were 12 horses on board. They were brought from Germany in a special container to participate in the equestrian test competition for the Tokyo Olympics in Tokyo.

At the Tokyo Games, when horses are brought to the airport, quarantine and customs officials go to the immediate vicinity of the aircraft to perform the necessary procedures, and the officials have confirmed the special operation procedures this time as well. It was.

In the Olympics and Paralympics, competition equipment of various shapes and sizes is used, from special items such as horses and guns to huge items such as canoe and boat.

At Narita Airport, the gateway to Japan's sky, one of the challenges is how to smoothly accept and send out these competition equipment from various countries.

Even if it ’s just a tray

One of the concerns for those concerned is August 10th, the day after the Olympic closing ceremony. This is because it is assumed that many passengers and luggage will gather at the airport in addition to the peak of the team's departure from the country and the time of the Bon Festival.

During the Bon holiday, on August 11, more than 60,000 people left Narita Airport, the highest number of nations per day during this period.

However, the number of nations with a sunrise on August 10, next year, which is a problem, is expected to reach 72,000, more than 10,000.

To South America in search of success tips

How can we efficiently handle a large amount of luggage such as competition equipment gathered at the airport at one time? It was South America Peru that Narita Airport Company and the organizing committee of the Tokyo Games headed for hints.

In Lima, the capital city of Peru, the “Pan American Games”, which can be called the Olympics in North America and Latin America, was held until August. I thought this was my last chance to see the airport operation at a large international competition with various competitions.

The observation team first headed to the Olympic Village, not the airport. In fact, in the Olympic Village, measures were taken to avoid confusion at the airport.

That is the system called “Check-in at the Olympic Village”. Before and after the closing event, which is expected to be the most congested, we will be able to check-in and check-in baggage at the airport, usually at the airport.

By completing the necessary procedures in the Athletes Village, you can avoid confusion at the airport. And this measure is to be implemented at the Tokyo Games.

To the dedicated lane for luggage

Of course, equipment such as competition equipment that was left by the team in the Olympic Village must be transported to the airport in time for the flight.

Piston transportation by truck was carried out between the athlete village and the airport, but the problem here was traffic congestion in Lima city.

According to the company in charge of transportation, it takes more than 2 hours to get to the airport, which is 40 kilometers away from the Olympic Village, especially in times of heavy traffic. It was.

In order to solve this problem, Lima set up a dedicated lane for trucks to run from the athlete village to the airport, and took measures to ensure that it could be transported on time.

As a result, we succeeded in transporting competition equipment to the airport in as little as 45 minutes. However, I am carrying competition equipment with different shapes and sizes. Even after the truck arrives at the airport safely, the struggles of the people concerned will continue.

Sticking pole vault pole

“We also have to get a“ gold medal ”,” said the manager of the warehouse company who was responsible for sorting and loading the team's luggage at the Lima tournament.

The company set up a new place to handle the team's luggage and added more workers to prepare for the tournament.

In Peru, which is located in the southern hemisphere, it is said that August is a winter holiday, and even when there are many passengers at the airport, the amount of baggage handled increased by about 20% during the Lima tournament compared to the normal year. did.

Even in the morning of the closing ceremony when the inspection team visited, various sporting equipment such as dressage harnesses, boats, throwing throws, etc. were brought in from the athlete village one after another, and workers were chased for security inspection and loading in containers. It was.

At the time of the Tokyo Games, a new temporary baggage deposit point was to be built at Narita Airport, and the inspection team asked questions on how to inspect baggage explosives at the dump. .

Among them, the observation team was paying attention to fix the pole vaulting pole to the platform for loading it on the aircraft.

Although it took about 30 minutes with 4 workers, it was finally fixed, but the pole is much larger than the base, so about one third of the pole that is about 5 meters must be left protruding from the base. .

One of the workers said, “Now you have to be careful not to break it when you load it into the aircraft.”

“I learned how difficult it was to have special baggage at the airport. Based on the tour, I would like to think about the placement of people at the temporary baggage collection site and the work procedure.”

Brilliant measures but unplanned situations

Although the Lima tournament was generally smooth in terms of protecting the aircraft on time, unplanned events occurred.

There was a team that canceled the check-in at the Olympic Village and just came directly to the airport.

The check-in at the Olympic Village is scheduled to be made 7 hours before departure, but the reason was that I wanted to go sightseeing until that time.

Approximately 180 people brought in a large amount of competition equipment, which took a long time to process, and many passengers were waiting in front of the counter.

The Tokyo Games aim to have more than 85% of the teams staying in the Athletes Village until the day of the closing ceremony to use check-in at the Athletes Village. It seems to be a future issue.

After the interview

In fact, our interview crew entered the site two days earlier than the inspection team and was also interviewing the Lima competition.

One of the most memorable aspects of this is that after the award ceremony at the boat venue, the athletes carefully wrapped their boats with their own hands.

One of the Cuban teams that brought 13 boats to Peru told me, “It is very difficult to repair any wounds and they must be treated with care.”

In this way, the competition equipment is very important for the players, as it can affect the outcome.

How can we handle these equipment smoothly with great care and ensure that all people, including regular passengers, use the airport without stress?

I'd like to continue to cover the unknown challenges that the Japanese gateway to the air for next year's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.

Chiba Broadcasting Station Reporter Teppei Yamashita Joined in 2013, followed by Kitakyushu Station, Chiba Broadcasting Station Narita Branch, covering issues related to Narita Airport and foreigners