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Kansai International Airport

Kansai International Airport

Kansai International Airport (ja: 関西国際空港 Kansai Kokusai Kūkō) is an international airport located on an artificial island in Osaka Bay, south of Osaka, Japan. It opened on September 4, 1994. The airport is a hub for Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, and Nippon Cargo Airlines. It is the international gateway for the Kansai region, which contains the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. Most domestic flights fly from the older but more conveniently located Osaka International Airport in Itami. In the Kansai dialect, Kansai Airport is often called Kankū (関空). The airport is located in the Osaka Bay: Coordinates

History

In the 1960s, when the Kansai region was rapidly losing trade to Tokyo, planners proposed a new airport near Osaka and Kobe. Osaka International Airport, located in the densely-populated suburbs of Itami and Toyonaka, was surrounded by buildings: it could not be expanded, and many of its neighbors had filed complaints because of noise pollution problems. After the protests surrounding New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita International Airport), which was built with confiscated land in a rural part of Chiba prefecture, planners decided to build the airport offshore. Initially, the airport was planned to be built near Kobe, but the city of Kobe refused the plan, so the airport was moved to a more southerly location on Osaka Bay. There, it could be open 24 hours per day, unlike its predecessor in the city. Local fishermen were the only group to protest, but they were silenced by hefty compensation packages. A man-made island, 4 km long and 1 km wide, was proposed. Engineers faced the risk of earthquakes (very high) and typhoons (with storm surges of up to 3 meters). Construction started in 1987. The sea wall was finished in 1989 (made of rocks and 48,000 tetrahedral concrete blocks). Three mountains were excavated for 21 million cubic meters of landfill. 10,000 workers and 10 million work hours over 3 years, using 80 ships, were needed to complete the thirty-meter layer of earth over the sea floor and inside the sea wall. In 1990, a three-kilometer bridge was completed to connect the island to the mainland at Rinku-Town, at a cost of $1 billion. Rinku-Town By then, the island had sunk 8 meters (far more than predicted) and the project became the most expensive civil works project in modern history after 20 years of planning, 3 years of construction and several billion dollars of investment. In 1991, the terminal construction commenced. To compensate for the sinking of the island, adjustable columns were designed to support the terminal building. These could be extended by inserting thick metal plates at their base. The airport opened in 1994. In 1995, Kansai Airport was struck by the Kobe earthquake, which was centered just 20 km away and killed 6,433 people on the mainland. The airport, however, emerged unscathed, mostly due to the use of sliding joints in its construction. Even the glass in the windows stayed intact. Later, in 1998, the airport survived a typhoon with wind speeds of up to 200 km/h. In 2001, the airport was one of ten structures given the "Civil Engineering Monument of the Millennium" award by the American Society of Civil Engineers. [http://www.asce.org/pressroom/news/pr041901_kansai.cfm]

Outlook

American Society of Civil Engineers Kansai Airport was designed for two reasons. Osaka International Airport which had reached its capacity, could not expand because of land problems, since the airport was located very close to the city of Osaka. Next, Japan's largest international airport, New Tokyo International Airport's (now Narita International Airport) expansion program was delayed for many years because of a host of environmental and related contentious litigation. Therefore Osaka needed another airport. The total cost of Kansai Airport so far is $15 billion, which is 40% over budget (mostly due to the sinking problem). The airport is still deeply in debt, losing $560 million in interest every year. Airlines have been kept away by high landing fees (approximately $7500 for a Boeing 747), the second most expensive in the world after Narita's. After deep discounts, the number of flights is increasing. On February 17, 2005, Chubu Centrair International Airport in the Nagoya region opened, taking over most of Nagoya's (the main airport serving that region) flights, both international and domestic. It is expected that the opening of the airport would increase competition between Japan's international airports. Also, the opening of Kobe Airport in 2006 is expected to further give KIX competition on domestic flights. The rate of sinking has slowed down markedly in recent years (just 17 cm in 2002). In 2003, believing that the sinking problem was almost over, the airport operators started the construction of a 4,000m second runway, with an estimated project cost of ¥1.56 trillion (approx. US$15 billion). Since the airport is at its limit on "peak" times, a portion of Phase II is scheduled to become operational in 2007. Later on, the airport is planning to construct a new terminal building, apron, and a third runway.

Terminal

2007 2007 2007 2007 2007 KIX has a single four-story terminal designed by Renzo Piano. It is the longest building in the world, at a total length of 1.7 km from end to end: a sophisticated people mover system moves passengers from one end of the pier to the other. The terminal's roof is shaped like an airfoil. This shape is used to promote air circulation through the building: giant air conditioning ducts blow air upwards at one side of the terminal, circulate the air across the curvature of the ceiling, and collect the air through intakes at the other side. Mobiles are suspended in the ticketing hall to take advantage of the flowing air. The ticketing hall overlooks the international departures concourse, and the two are separated by a glass partition. During Kansai's early days, visitors were known to throw objects over the partition to friends in the corridor below. The partition was eventually modified to halt this practice.

International carriers

International arrivals go to immigration and baggage claim on the first floor. International departures are ticketed on the fourth floor and board from the third floor.
- Air Caledonie Airlines (Noumea)
- Air Canada (Vancouver)
- Air China (Beijing, Dalian, Shanghai Pudong)
- Air France (Paris CDG)
- Air India (Delhi, Mumbai, Hong Kong)
- Air New Zealand (Auckland, Christchurch)
- Air Tahiti Nui (Papeete, Tokyo/Narita)
- Alitalia (Milan/Malpensa)
- All Nippon Airways (Beijing, Dalian, Guam, Hangzhou, Hong Kong, Seoul Incheon, Shanghai Pudong, Shenyang, Qingdao, Xiamen)
- American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth)
- Asiana Airlines (Busan, Jeju, Seoul/Incheon)
- Australian Airlines (Cairns, Gold Coast)
- Austrian Airlines (Vienna)
- Cathay Pacific (Hong Kong, Taipei)
- China Eastern Airlines (Beijing, Fuzhou, Guilin, Kunming, Nanjing, Qingdao, Shanghai Pudong, Wuhan, Yantai)
- China Southern Airlines (Dalian, Guangzhou, Shanghai Pudong, Shenyang)
- Egyptair (Cairo, Luxor)
- Emirates (Dubai, UAE)
- EVA Air (Taipei)
- Finnair (Helsinki)
- Garuda Indonesia (Denpasar)
- Hainan Airlines (Haikou)
- JALWays (Denpasar, Guam, Saipan)
- Japan Airlines (Auckland, Bangkok, Beijing, Brisbane, Busan, Dalian, Denpasar, Dubai, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Kunming, London/Heathrow, Los Angeles, Paris CDG, Qingdao, Seoul/Incheon, Shanghai Pudong, Singapore, Sydney)
- Japan Asia Airways (Taipei)
- KLM (Amsterdam)
- Korean Air (Busan, Jeju, Seoul/Incheon)
- Lufthansa (Frankfurt)
- Malaysia Airlines (Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur)
- MIAT Mongolian (Ulan Bator)
- Northwest Airlines (Detroit, Guam, Honolulu, Taipei)
- Philippine Airlines (Manila)
- Qatar Airways (Doha)
- Royal Nepal Airlines (Kathmandu, Shanghai Pudong)
- Shanghai Airlines (Shanghai Pudong)
- Singapore Airlines (Bangkok, Singapore)
- Thai Airways International (Bangkok, Manila, Phuket)
- United Airlines (Chicago/O'Hare, Honolulu, San Francisco)
- Uzbekistan Airways (Tashkent)
- Vietnam Airlines (Ho Chi Minh City)
- Vladivostok Air (Vladivostok)
- Xiamen Airlines (Xiamen)

Domestic carriers

Arrivals, departures, ticketing, and baggage claim are all on the second floor.
- All Nippon Airways (Fukuoka, Goto Fukue, Hakodate, Ishigaki, Kagoshima, Matsuyama, Memanbetsu, Miyako, Miyazaki, Okinawa, Sapporo Chitose, Tokyo Haneda, Wakkanai)
- Japan Airlines (Akita, Aomori, Asahikawa, Fukuoka, Fukushima, Hakodate, Kushiro, Memambetsu, Obihiro, Okinawa, Sapporo Chitose, Tokyo Haneda, Tokyo Narita)
- Japan Transocean Air (Ishigaki, Okinawa)
- Skymark Airlines (Tokyo Haneda)

Cargo carriers

(Airlines that operate only cargo flights into the airport)
- Air Hong Kong
- Dragonair
- Federal Express
- Nippon Cargo Airlines
- Scandinavian Airlines System
- United Parcel Service

Ground transportation

United Parcel Service Kansai Airport is connected by a road/railway bridge to Rinku Town. The upper roadway level of the bridge is part of the Kansai Airport Expressway (関西空港高速道路 Kansai-kuko-kosoku-doro), which connects to the Hanshin Expressway No. 5 Wangan Line and the Hanwa Expressway. Airport limousines (Osaka Airport Transport) use these connections to transport passengers to various points in the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto area. The lower railway level of the bridge is used by JR and Nankai trains. JR "Airport Rapid" trains operate to Osaka Station and Kyobashi Station, as well as several intermediate stations; direct connections are available to various surface and subway lines within the city. JR also operates the Haruka limited express service to Tennoji Station and Kyoto Station. Nankai's trains all terminate at Namba Station on the south side of central Osaka, with subway connections available at Namba and Tengachaya Station. In addition to regular express service, Nankai also offers a high-speed limited express, the Rapi:t. Hydrofoil service is also available to Awaji Island.

External links


- [http://www.kansai-airport.or.jp/english/index.htm KIX operations website in English]
- [http://www.kiac.co.jp/english/default.htm KIX corporate website]
- [http://www.kald.co.jp/eindexframe.html KIX development website]
- [http://www.kiac.co.jp/english/history/history.htm History of KIX]
- [http://wikitravel.org/en/article/Kansai_International_Airport Wikitravel: Kansai International Airport]
- [http://www.worldairportguide.com/airports/kix/kix.asp World Airport Guide: Kansai International Airport]
- [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=34.433384,135.240669&spn=0.118721,0.178082&t=k&hl=en Google Maps Link: Kansai International Airport] Category:Osaka Prefecture Category:Osaka Category:Artificial islands Category:Kansai region Category:Airports in Japan ja:関西国際空港 ko:간사이 국제공항

Airport

An airport is a facility where aircraft can take off and land. At the very minimum, an airport consists of one runway (or helipad), but other common components are hangars and terminal buildings. Apart from these, an airport may have a variety of facilities and infrastructure, including fixed base operator services, air traffic control, passenger facilities such as restaurants and lounges, and emergency services. A military airport is known as an airbase in North American terminology (other countries may use the term airfield or air station in current parlance). The terms airfield and airstrip may also be used to refer to a facility that has nothing more than a runway. The term aerodrome refers to any surface used for take off or landing. The term airport refers to an aerodrome that is licensed by the responsible government organization (ie FAA, Transport Canada). Airports have to be maintained to higher safety standards. There is usually no minimum standards for a basic aerodrome.

Attributes

Airports vary in size, with smaller or less-developed airports often having only a single runway shorter than 1,000 m (3,300 ft). Larger airports for international flights generally have paved runways 2,000 m (6,600 ft) or longer. Many small airports have dirt, grass, or gravel runways, rather than asphalt or concrete. In the United States, the minimum dimensions for dry, hard landing fields are defined by the FAR Landing And Takeoff Field Lengths. These include considerations for safety margins during landing and takeoff. Typically heavier aircraft require longer runways. The longest public-use runway in the world is at Ulyanovsk-Vostochny International Airport, in Ulyanovsk, Russia. It has a length of 16,404ft. As of 2005, there were approximately 50,000 airports around the world, including 19,815 in the United States alone.

Airport structures

Russia Airports are divided into landside and airside areas. Landside areas include parking lots, tank farms and access roads. Airside areas include all areas accessible to aircraft, including runways, taxiways and ramps. Access from landside areas to airside areas is tightly controlled at most airports. Passengers on commercial flights access airside areas through terminals, where they can purchase tickets, clear security, check or claim luggage and board aircraft. The waiting areas which provide passenger access to aircraft are typically called concourses, although this term is often used interchangeably with terminal. The area where aircraft park next to a terminal to load passengers and baggage is known as a ramp. Parking areas for aircraft away from terminals are generally called aprons. Both large and small airports can be towered or uncontrolled, depending on air traffic density and available funds. Due to their high capacity and busy airspace, most international airports have air traffic control located on site.

International airports

Customs facilities for international flights define an international airport, and often require a more conspicuous level of physical security. International airports generally have a complex of buildings where passengers can embark on airliners, and where cargo can be stored and loaded. The largest international airports are often located next to freeways or are served by their own freeways. Often, traffic is fed into two access roads, designed as loops, one sitting on top of the other. One level is for departing passengers and the other is for arrivals. Many airports also have light rail lines or other mass transit systems directly connected to the main terminals.

Shops and food services

mass transits.]] Most international airports have shops and food courts. These services usually provide the passengers food and drinks before they board their flight. Many recognizable chain food restaurants have opened branches in large airports to serve often hungry passengers. London's Heathrow Airport, for example, is home to both a Harrods and a Hamleys Toy Shop, providing Duty Free for international passangers. International areas usually have a duty-free shop where travellers are not required to pay the usual duty fees on items. Larger airlines often operate member-only lounges for premium passengers. Airports have a captive audience, and consequently the prices charged for food is generally higher than are available elsewhere in the region. However, some airports now regulate food costs to keep them comparable to so-called "street prices". captive audience

Cargo and freight services

In addition to people, airports are responsible for moving large volumes of cargo around the clock. Cargo airlines often have their own on-site and adjecent infrastructure to rapidly transfer parcels between ground and air modes of transportation.

Support services

Aircraft maintenance, pilot services, aircraft rental, and hangar rental are most often performed by a fixed base operator (FBO). At major airports, particularly those used as hubs, airlines may operate their own support facilities.

History and development

The earliest airplane landing sites were simply open, grassy fields. The plane could approach at any angle that provided a favorable wind direction. Early airfields were often built for the purpose of entertainment. These aerodromes consisted of a grassy field, with hangar for storage and servicing of airplanes, and observation stands for the visitors. Increased aircraft traffic during World War I led to the construction of regular landing fields. Airplanes had to approach these from certain directions. This led to the development of aids for directing the approach and landing slope. Following the war, some of these military airfields added commercial facilities for handling passenger traffic. One of the earliest such fields was Le Bourget, near Paris. The first international airport to open was the Croydon Airport, in South London [http://www.sutton.gov.uk/leisure/heritage/croydon+airport.htm]. In 1922, the first permanent airport and commercial terminal solely for commercial aviation was built at Königsberg, Germany. The airports of this era used a paved "apron", which permitted night flying as well as landing heavier airplanes. The first lighting used on an airport was during the later part of the 1920s; in the 1930s approach lighting came into use. These indicated the proper direction and angle of descent. The colors and flash intervals of these lights became standardized under the ICAO. In the 1940s, the slope-line approach system was introduced. This consisted of two rows of lights that formed a funnel indicating an aircraft's position on the glideslope. Additional lights indicated incorrect altitude and direction. Following World War II, airport design began to become more sophisticated. Passenger buildings were being grouped together in an island, with runways arranged in groups about the terminal. This arrangement permitted expansion of the facilities. But it also meant that passengers had to travel further to reach their plane.

Airport designation and naming

Airports are uniquely represented by their IATA airport code and ICAO airport code. IATA airport codes are often, but not always, abbreviated forms of the common name of the airport, such as PHL for Philadelphia International Airport. Exceptions to this rule often occur when an airport's name is changed. O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Illinois retains the IATA code ORD, from its former name of Orchard Field. In many countries airports are often named after a prominent national celebrity, commonly a politician, e.g. John F. Kennedy International Airport, Indira Gandhi International Airport or Charles de Gaulle International Airport.

Airport security

Airports are required to have safety precautions in most countries. Rules vary in different countries, but there are common elements worldwide. Airport security normally requires baggage checks, metal screenings of individual persons, and rules against any object that could be used as a weapon. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, airport security has been dramatically increased worldwide.

Airport operations

Outside the terminal, there is a large team of people who work in concert to ensure aircraft can land, take off, and move around quickly and safely. These processes are largely invisible to passengers, but they can be extraordinarily complex at large airports.

Air traffic control

Air traffic control (or ATC) is system whereby ground-based controllers direct aircraft movements, usually via radio. This coordinated oversight facilitates safety and speed in complex operations where traffic moves in all three dimensions. Air traffic control responsibilities at airports are usually divided into two main areas: ground and tower. radio.]] Ground Control is responsible for directing all ground traffic in designated "movement areas," except the traffic on runways. This includes planes, baggage trains, snowplows, grass cutters, fuel trucks, and a wide array of other vehicles. Ground Control will instruct these vehicles on which taxiways to use, which runway they will use (in the case of planes), where they will park, and when it is safe to cross runways. When a plane is ready to take off it will stop short of the runway, at which point it will be turned over to Tower Control. After a plane has landed, it will depart the runway and be returned to Ground Control. Tower Control controls aircraft on the runway and in the controlled airspace immediately surrounding the airport. Tower controllers use radar to identify and accurately locate an aircraft's position in three-dimensional space. They coordinate the sequencing of aircraft in the traffic pattern and direct aircraft on how to safely join and leave the circuit. Aircraft which are only passing through the airspace must also contact Tower Control in order to be sure that they remain clear of other traffic and do not disrupt operations.

Traffic pattern

radar Smaller airports and military airfields use a traffic pattern to assure smooth traffic flow between departing and arriving aircraft. Generally, this pattern is a circuit consisting of five "legs" that form a rectangle (two legs and the runway form one side, with the remaining legs each form another side). Each leg is named (see diagram), and ATC directs pilots on how to join and leave the circuit. Traffic patterns are flown at one specific altitude, usually 1000 ft AGL. Most traffic patterns are left-handed, meaning all turns are made to the left. Right-handed patterns do exist, usually because of obstacles such as a mountain or to reduce noise for local residents. The predetermined circuit helps pilots look for other aircraft, and helps reduce the chance of a mid-air collision. At extremely large airports, a circuit is not usually used. Rather, ATC schedules aircraft for landing while they are still hours away from the airport. Airplanes can then take the most direct approach to the runway and land without worrying about interference from other aircraft. While this system keeps the airspace free and is simpler for pilots, it requires detailed knowledge of how aircraft are planning to use the airport ahead of time and is therefore only possible with large commercial airliners on pre-scheduled flights. The system has recently become so advanced that controllers can predict whether an aircraft will be delayed on landing before it even takes off; that aircraft can then be delayed on the ground, rather than wasting expensive fuel waiting in the air.

Navigational aids

Before takeoff, pilots usually check an Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS) for information about airport conditions where they exist. The ATIS contains information about weather, which runway and traffic patterns are in use, and other information that pilots should be aware of. When flying, there are a number of aids available to pilots, though not all airports are equipped with them. A VASI helps pilots fly a perfect approach for landing once they have found the airport. Some airports are equipped with a VOR to help pilots find the direction to the airport, VORs are often accompanied by a DME to determine the distance to the airport. In poor weather, pilots will use an Instrument Landing System to find the runway and fly the correct approach, even if they cannot see the ground. Larger airports sometimes offer Precision Approach Radar (PAR). The aircraft's horizontal and vertical movement is tracked via radar, and the controller tells the pilot his position relative to the approach slope. Once the pilots can see the runway lights, they may continue with a visual landing.

Guidance signs

approach slope Airport guidance signs provide direction and information to taxiing aircraft and airport vehicles and assist in safe and expedient movement of aircraft. Smaller airports may have few or no signs, relying instead on airport diagrams and charts. There are two classes of signage at airports, with several types of each:

Operational guidance signs


- Location signs - yellow on black background. Identifies the runway or taxiway currently on or entering.
- Direction/Runway Exit signs - black on yellow. Identifies the intersecting taxiways the aircraft is approaching, with an arrow indicating the direction to turn.
- Other - Many airports use conventional traffic signs such as stop and yield signs throughout the airport.

Mandatory instruction signs

Madatory instruction signs are white on red. They show entrances to runways or critical areas. Vehicles and aircraft are required to stop at these signs until the control tower gives clearance to proceed.
- Runway signs - White on a red. These signs simply identify a runway intersection ahead.
- Frequency Change signs - Usually a stop sign and an instruction to change to another frequency. These signs are used at airports with different areas of ground control.
- Holding Position signs - A single solid yellow bar across a taxiway indicates a position where ground control may require a stop. If a two solid yellow bars and two dashed yellow bars are encountered, this indicates a holding position for a runway intersection ahead; runway holding lines must never be crossed without permission. At some airports, a line of red lights across a taxiway is used during low visibility operations to indicate holding positions.

Lighting

Many airports have lighting that help guide planes using the runways and taxiways at night or in rain or fog. On runways, green lights indicate the beginning of the runway for landing, while red lights indicate the end of the runway. Runway edge lighting is white lights spaced out on both sides of the runway, indicating the edge. Some airports have more complicated lighting on the runways including lights that run down the centerline of the runway and lights that help indicate the approach. Low-traffic airports may use Pilot Controlled Lighting to save electricity and staffing costs. Along taxiways, blue lights indicate the taxiway's edge, and some airports have embedded green lights that indicate the centerline.

Wind indicators

Planes take-off and land into the wind in order to achieve maximum performance. Wind speed and direction information is available through the ATIS or ATC, but pilots need instantaneous information during landing. For this purpose, a windsock is kept in view of the runway.

Safety management

Air safety is an important concern in the operation of an airport, and almost every airfield includes equipment and procedures for handling emergency situations. Commercial airfields include one or more emergency vehicles and their crew that are specially equipped for dealing with airfield accidents, crew and passenger extractions, and the hazards of highly flammable airplane fuel. The crews are also trained to deal with situations such as bomb threats, hijacking, and terrorist activities. Potential airfield hazards to aircraft include debris, nesting birds, and environmental conditions such as ice or snow. The fields must be kept clear of debris using cleaning equipment so that loose material doesn't become a projectile and enter an engine duct. Similar concerns apply to birds nesting near an airfield, and crews often need to discourage birds from taking up residence. In adverse weather conditions, ice and snow clearing equipment can be used to improve traction on the landing strip. For waiting aircraft, equipment is used to spray special deicing fluids on the wings. During the 1980s, a phenomenon known as microburst became a growing concern due to accidents caused by microburst wind shear. (For example, see Delta Air Lines Flight 191.) Microburst radar was developed as an aid to safety during landing, giving two to five minutes warning to aircraft in the vicinity of the field of an microburst event.

Environmental concerns

The traffic generated by airports both in the air and on the surface can be a major source of aviation noise and air pollution which may interrupt nearby residents' sleep or, in extreme cases, be harmful to their health . The construction of new airports, or addition of runways to existing airports, is often resisted by local residents because of the effect on the countryside, historical sites, local flora and fauna. As well, due to the risk of collision between birds and airplanes, large airports undertake population control programs where they frighten or shoot birds to ensure the safety of air travellers. The construction of airports has been known to change local weather patterns. For example, because they often flatten out large areas, they can be succeptible to fog in areas where fog rarely forms. In addition, because they generally replace trees and grass with pavement, they often change drainage patterns in agricultural areas, leading to more flooding, run-off and erosion in the surrounding land.

Military Airbase

An Airbase, sometimes referred to as a military airport or airfield, provides basing and support of military aircraft. Some airbases provide facilites similar to their civilian counterparts. For example, RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, England has a terminal which caters to passengers for the Royal Air Force's scheduled Tristar flights to the Falkland Islands. A special military airfield is an Aircraft Carrier.

Aircraft Carriers

An aircraft carrier is a warship that functions as a floating airport for military aircraft. Aircraft carriers allow a naval force to project air power great distances without having to depend on local bases for land-based aircraft. After their development in World War II, aircraft carriers rapidly replaced the battleship as the centrepiece of a modern fleet. Unescorted carriers are considered vulnerable to missile or submarine attacks and therefore travel as part of a carrier battle group that includes a wide array of other ships with specific functions.

Airports in Entertainment

Airports have occasionally played major roles in motion pictures and television shows due to being transportation hubs, but also because of their unique characteristics. One such example of this is the movie The Terminal, a film about a man who becomes permanently grounded in an airport terminal and must survive only on the food and shelter provided by the airport. If nothing else, this movie demonstrates the sustaining properties of airport terminals. Movies such as Airplane!, Airport, Die Hard II, Jackie Brown, and Get Shorty also revolve around the unique culture of the major city airports.

Airport Directories

Each national aviation authority has its own system for pilots to be able to keep track of information about airports in their country.
- The United States uses the Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD), seven volumes that contain information such as elevation, airport lighting, runway information, communications, hours of operation, nearby NAVAIDs and much more.
- In Canada, a single publication, the Canada Flight Supplement (CFS) provides equivalent information.

See also


- List of airports
- Heliport
- World's busiest airport
- List of aviation topics
- NIMBY

External links


- [http://www.airnav.com/airports/ AirNav.com] - complete list of U.S. airports, with detailed airport information
- [http://www.pspda.com/efad.html eFAD] - the most powerful electronic airport directory (A/FD) on earth!
- [http://www.fly.faa.gov/flyfaa/usmap.jsp ATCSCC Real-time Airport Status page] - shows airport delay times for major U.S. airports
- [http://www.africaspotter.at.tt AFRICASPOTTER.at.tt] - Airports in Southern Africa
- [http://www.fortliberty.org/american-politics/airport-security.shtml U.S. airport security]
- [http://www.dft.gov.uk Department for Transport] (United Kingdom)
- [http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Government_Role/landing_nav/POL14.htm History of Aircraft Landing Aids]
- [http://www.numlink.com Airport satellite images] Category:Aviation Category:Transport infrastructure Category:Buildings and structures ko:공항 ms:Lapangan terbang ja:空港 simple:Airport th:สนามบิน

Osaka Bay

Osaka Bay (大阪湾 Osaka-wan) is a bay in western Japan. As a eastern part of the Inland Sea, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Kii Channel and from the neighbor western part of the Inland Sea by the Akashi Strait. Its western shore is formed by Awaji Island, and its northern and eastern shores are part of the Kansai metropolitan area. Major ports on Osaka Bay include Osaka, Kobe, Nishinomiya, Sakai, Amagasaki, and Hannan. A number of artificial islands have been created in Osaka Bay in past decades, including Kansai International Airport, Port Island, and Rokko Island. Several islands at the south end of Osaka Bay are part of the Seto Inland Sea National Park. Category:Osaka Category:Bays ja:大阪湾

Osaka

] ] The city of Osaka (Japanese: 大阪市, -shi, ) is the capital of Osaka Prefecture and the third-largest city in Japan, with a population of 2.7 million. Moreover, its daytime (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.) population is second in Japan after Tokyo. The city is located in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshu, at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay. It is one of Japan's major industrial centers and ports, the heart of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area, which has a population of 17,510,000.

History

Osaka city was named originally Naniwa and the name appears in early Japanese historical documents. Emperor Kōtoku made this area his capital, and named it Naniwa-no-miya (the Naniwa capital). It has always been a vital connection, by land and sea, between Yamato (modern day Nara Prefecture), Korea, and China. Settsu, a former province of Japan, consisted of the northern part of modern Osaka prefecture and the seaside part of Hyogo Prefecture. In 1496 the Jodo Shinshu Buddhist sect set up their headquarters, the heavily fortified Ishiyama Honganji temple, in Ishiyama, today a part of Osaka. In 1576, Oda Nobunaga started a siege of the temple that went on to last for four years. The monks finally surrendered in 1580, the temple was razed and Toyotomi Hideyoshi took the place for his own castle, Osaka Castle. Osaka was called Ōzaka (大坂) from the middle ages until the premodern period. In the beginning of Meiji Era the government renamed the city to Ōsaka, which remains its name today. In those days Osaka was the second largest city of Japan and economically the most important, because most of the important markets, rice, exchange and so on were there. The modern city was designated on September 1, 1956 by government ordinance.

Attractions

Central Osaka is divided into two sections: Kita（北） (north) and Minami （南）(south). The retail district of Umeda（梅田）is located in Kita, while the entertainment area around Dotonbori Bridge with its famous giant motorised crab, Triangle Park and Amerikamura ("America Village") is in Minami. Minami is also home to the Shinsaibashi (心斎橋） and Ebisubashi shopping districts. The central business district, including the courts and major banks, is primarily located in Yodoyabashi and Hommachi　（本町）, between Kita and Minami. Business districts have also formed around the city's secondary rail termini, such as Tennoji Station（天王寺駅） and Kyobashi Station. Osaka is known for bunraku (traditional puppet theatre) and kabuki theatre, and for manzai, a more contemporary form of stand-up comedy. Tourist attractions include:
- Osaka Castle
- Kaiyukan（海遊館） - an aquarium located in Osaka Bay, containing 35,000 aquatic animals in 14 tanks, the largest of which is the world's largest aquarium tank, holding 5,400 tons of water and housing a variety of sea animals including whale sharks,
- the Shinsekai district and Tsutenkaku Tower,
- numerous amusement parks including Universal Studios Japan, Expoland, and Festival Gate, and,
- for the sanitary-minded, the "Toilets of the World" exhibit in the International Finance Center in Osaka Business Park (OBP), located just north of Osaka Castle park.
- Osaka City Museum
- Nakanoshima Park
- Osaka Municipal Oriental Porcelain Museum
- Osaka Municipal Science Museum
- Osaka Public Nakanoshima Library
- Osaka Central Public Hall
- American Village
- Shin-Kabuki-za
- Namba Grand Kagetsu
- Osaka Prefectural Museum of Kamigata Comedy and Performing Arts
- Ten'noji Park
- Ten'noji Zoo
- National Museum of Art, Osaka
- Shiten'no Temple
- Sumiyoshi Park
- Sumiyoshi Taisha Shrine
- Asia Pacific Trade Center
- Osaka WTC Building
- Hiromitsu Ishida's birthplace

Transport

Kansai International Airport is the main airport: it is a rectangular artificial island which sits off-shore in Osaka Bay and services Osaka and its surrounding satellite cities of Nara, Kobe and Kyoto. Kansai is the geographical term for the area of western Honshu surrounding Osaka. The airport is linked by a bus and train service into the centre of the city and major suburbs. Osaka International Airport in Itami and Toyonaka still houses most of the domestic service from the metropolitan region: its proximity to the Osaka, Kobe, and Kyoto city centers outweighs its noise restrictions. Besides the subway system there is a network of both JR and private lines connecting the suburbs of the city, and Osaka to its neighbours. Keihan and Hankyu line connect to Kyoto, Hanshin and Hankyu line connect to Kobe, the Kintetsu line connects to Nara and Nagoya, and the Nankai line to Wakayama.

Wards

Osaka has 24 wards (ku), one more than Tokyo:
- Abeno-ku
- Asahi-ku
- Chuo-ku
- Fukushima-ku
- Higashinari-ku
- Higashisumiyoshi-ku
- Higashiyodogawa-ku
- Hirano-ku
- Ikuno-ku
- Joto-ku
- Kita-ku
- Konohana-ku
- Minato-ku
- Miyakojima-ku
- Naniwa-ku
- Nishi-ku
- Nishinari-ku
- Nishiyodogawa-ku
- Suminoe-ku
- Sumiyoshi-ku
- Taisho-ku
- Tennoji-ku
- Tsurumi-ku
- Yodogawa-ku

Demographics

As of 2005, the city has an estimated population of 2,640,097 and the density of 11,894 persons per square kilometre. The total area is 221.30 km². The people of Osaka speak a dialect of standard Japanese called Osaka-ben, characterised, most prominently amongst other particularities, by the use of the suffix hen instead of nai in the negative of verbs. About 118,000 foreign residents are registered in the city. Its 96,000 Korean residents are mainly concentrated around Ikuno Ward, where a famous Korean town, Tsuruhashi, is located.

Economy

Historically, Osaka was the center of Japanese commerce, especially in the middle and premodern ages. Today, many major companies have moved their main offices to Tokyo, especially from the end of 1990s, but several major companies are still based in Osaka. Below are some of the companies based in Osaka.

Major companies based in Osaka


- Daimaru
- Hankyu Railway
- Hanshin Electric Railway
- ITOCHU
- Kintetsu Corporation
- Kansai Electric Power Company
- Keyence
- Nankai Electric Railway
- Nissin
- Osaka Gas
- Resona Holdings, Inc.
- Sharp
- Suntory
- Takashimaya
- West Japan Railway Company (JR West)
- Capcom
- NOVA In addition, Matsushita (Panasonic) is based in nearby Kadoma, Sanyo is based in nearby Moriguchi, Daihatsu Motor is based in nearby Ikeda and Nintendo is based in nearby Kyoto. In addition, since Capcom is based in Japan, they made Osaka the site for the final tournament showdown in the video game Capcom vs SNK 2.

Culture

As Osaka has always been the centre of commerce, people from Osaka have a reputation of being very good businessmen. On top of this they are popularly considered to be some of the most outgoing Japanese people. Their dialect, "Osaka-ben", has become the standard for stand-up comedians and actors often train in the dialect so they can be seen as even funnier on the stage. Food from Osaka is said to be Japan's best. Osaka regional cuisine includes okonomiyaki (a type of pancake), takoyaki (octopus dumplings), udon (a noodle dish), as well as regional sushi and other traditional Japanese foods. It is said that to succeed in the Osaka food service business, the food must taste above-average, have larger servings than normal, be inexpensive and fast. Being a big, business-based city, Osakans are thought of as always being in a rush. People consider a waiting period of more than 5 minutes too long in most cases. They apparently also walk the fastest in Japan - at an average speed of 1.6 metres per second (surpassing even Tokyoites who also walk fast at 1.56 metres per second). One difference between the West Japan including Osaka and the East Japan is that it is customary in West Japan to stand on the right side of the escalator and allow people to pass on the left.

Sister Cities

Sister Cities of Osaka include San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Chicago, Shanghai, Melbourne, St. Petersburg, Milan, and Hamburg.

In fiction


- In Tsubasa Chronicles, the "Hanshin-kuni" is a take off of Osaka
- Mitsune Konno from Love Hina is from Osaka.
- In the 2005 version of War of the Worlds, Ogilvy mentions to Ray Ferrier that some people in Osaka managed to defeat the invaders.
- Osaka is the nickname for the spacy, distant, Osaka native high schooler, "Ayumu Kasuga", from the manga/anime, Azumanga Daioh.
- The anime/manga "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi" is set in the Abeno-ku ward of Osaka.
- the manga/anime "Ai Shite Knight" is set in Osaka.

External links


-
- [http://www.city.osaka.jp/english/ Official City of Osaka homepage]
- [http://www.tourism.city.osaka.jp/en/index.htm Osaka Tourist Guide] ---- :This article is for the city of Osaka. For information about the anime/manga character named Osaka, see Azumanga Daioh. Category:Cities in Osaka Prefecture Category:Coastal cities Category:Osaka ko:오사카 시 ja:大阪市 simple:Osaka

September 4

September 4 is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years). There are 118 days remaining.

Events


- 476 - Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself King of Italy.
- 1260 - The Senese Ghibellines, supported by the forces of King Manfred of Sicily, defeat the Florentine Guelphs at Montaperti.
- 1781 - Los Angeles, California, is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (the City of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of the Little Portion) by a group of 44 Spanish settlers.
- 1870 - Emperor Napoleon III of France is deposed and the Third Republic is declared.
- 1886 - Indian Wars: After almost 30 years of fighting, Apache leader Geronimo surrenders with his last band of warriors to General Nelson Miles at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona.
- 1867 - Establishment of Sheffield Wednesday, England's fifth oldest League Club.
- 1888 - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film.
- 1894 - In New York City, 12,000 tailors strike against sweatshop working conditions.
- 1923 - In Lakehurst, New Jersey, the first U.S. airship, the USS Shenandoah, takes to the sky for the first time.
- 1940 - World War II: The USS Greer becomes the first United States ship fired upon by a German submarine in the war, even though the United States is a neutral power. Tension heightens between the two nations as a result.
- 1944 - World War II: The British 11th Armoured Division liberate the Belgian city of Antwerp.
- 1945 - World War II: Japanese forces surrender on Wake Island after hearing word of their nation's surrender.
- 1948 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates for health reasons.
- 1949 - Maiden flight of the Bristol Brabazon.
- 1950 - The "Beetle Bailey" comic strip begins.
- 1951 - The first live transcontinental television broadcast takes place in San Francisco, California, from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference.
- 1957 - American Civil Rights Movement: Little Rock Crisis - Orville Faubus, governor of Arkansas, calls out the National Guard to prevent black students from enrolling in Central High School in Little Rock.
- 1957 - The Ford Motor Company introduces the Edsel.
- 1963 - Swissair Flight 306 crashes near Dürrenäsch, Switzerland, killing all on board.
- 1964 - Scotland's Forth Road Bridge, near Edinburgh, officially opens.
- 1967 - The last new episode of the television sitcom Gilligan's Island airs on CBS-TV.
- 1967 - Vietnam War: Operation Swift begins: U.S. Marines launch a search-and-destroy mission in Quang Nam and Quang Tin Provinces. The ensuingfour-day battle in Que Son Valley kills 114 Americans and 376 North Vietnamese.
- 1971 - A Boeing 727 carrying Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 crashes into the side of a mountain near Juneau, Alaska, killing all 111 people on board.
- 1971 - In the U.S., The Lawrence Welk Show airs its last show.
- 1972 - Mark Spitz wins his seventh swimming gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, becoming the first Olympian to win seven gold medals.
- 1995 - The Fourth World Conference on Women opens in Beijing with over 4,750 delegates from 181 countries in attendance.
- 1996 - War on Drugs: Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) attack a military base in Guaviare, starting three weeks of guerrilla warfare that will claim the lives of at least 130 Colombians.
- 1997 - In Lorain, Ohio, United States, the last Ford Thunderbird rolls off the assembly line.
- 1997 - A U.S. Air Force C-141 cargo plane and a German TU-154 collide in mid-air over southwest Africa killing 33.

Births


- 1241 - King Alexander III of Scotland (d. 1286)
- 1454 - Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English politician (d. 1483)
- 1563 - Wanli, Emperor of China (d. 1620)
- 1596 - Constantijn Huygens, Dutch poet and composer (d. 1687)
- 1717 - Job Orton, English dissenting minister (d. 1783)
- 1768 - François-René de Chateaubriand, French writer and diplomat (d. 1848)
- 1803 - Sarah Childress Polk, First Lady of the United States (d. 1891)
- 1824 - Anton Bruckner, Austrian composer (d. 1896)
- 1832 - Antonio Agliardi, Italian diplomat (d. 1915)
- 1851 - John Dillon, Irish nationalist (d. 1927)
- 1891 - Fritz Todt, Nazi official (d. 1942)
- 1892 - Darius Milhaud, French composer (d. 1974)
- 1895 - Nigel Bruce, English actor (d. 1953)
- 1896 - Antonin Artaud, French playwright, actor, and director (d. 1948)
- 1905 - Mary Renault, English novelist (d. 1983)
- 1906 - Max Delbrück, German biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1981)
- 1908 - Edward Dmytryk, American film director (d. 1999)
- 1908 - Richard Wright, American writer (d. 1960)
- 1913 - Stanford Moore, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)
- 1918 - Paul Harvey American radio broadcaster
- 1920 - Teddy Johnson, British singer
- 1924 - Joan Aiken, English writer (d. 2004)
- 1925 - Forrest Carter, American author
- 1927 - John McCarthy, American computer scientist
- 1928 - Dick York, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1931 - Mitzi Gaynor, American actress
- 1932 - Dinsdale Landen, English actor (d. 2003)
- 1934 - Clive Granger, Welsh-born economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 - Dawn Fraser, Australian swimmer
- 1941 - Sushilkumar Shinde, Indian politician
- 1946 - Gary Duncan, American guitarist (Quicksilver Messenger Service)
- 1946 - Greg Elmore, American drummer (Quicksilver Messenger Service)
- 1948 - Samuel Hui, Hong Kong singer
- 1957 - Khandi Alexander, American actress
- 1957 - Patricia Tallman, American actress
- 1959 - Kevin Harrington, Australian actor
- 1960 - Damon Wayans, American actor and comedian
- 1968 - Mike Piazza, baseball player
- 1970 - Igor Cavalera, Brazilian drummer (Sepultura)
- 1970 - Daisy Dee, West Indian-born singer and actress
- 1971 - Maik Taylor, Northern Irish goalkeeper (football)
- 1973 - Jason David Frank, American actor
- 1977 - Ian Grushka, American musician (New Found Glory)
- 1979 - Michael Bowen, A nobody who decided to add his own name
- 1981 - Beyoncé Knowles, American singer
- 1982 - Alessandra Rubi Streignard Villarreal, Spanish singer

Deaths


- 799 - Musa al-Kazim, Shia Imam (b. 745)
- 1037 - King Bermudo III of Leon (b. 1010)
- 1063 - Toghrül, Turkish conqueror of Persia and Baghdad
- 1199 - Joan of England, queen of William II of Sicily (b. 1165)
- 1537 - Johann Dietenberger, German theologian
- 1588 - Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, English politician (b. 1532)
- 1767 - Charles Townshend, English politician (b. 1725)
- 1780 - John Fielding, English magistrate and social reformer (b. 1721)
- 1784 - César-François Cassini de Thury, French astronomer (b. 1714)
- 1794 - John Hely-Hutchinson, Irish statesman (b. 1724)
- 1804 - Richard Somers, American naval officer
- 1852 - William MacGillivray, Scottish naturalist and ornithologist (b. 1796)
- 1864 - John Hunt Morgan, American Confederate military leader (b. 1825)
- 1907 - Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (b. 1843)
- 1909 - Clyde Fitch, American dramatist and playwright (b. 1865)
- 1916 - José Echegaray y Eizaguirre, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1832)
- 1965 - Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian physician and missionary, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1875)
- 1974 - Marcel Achard, French playwright (b. 1899)
- 1977 - E. F. Schumacher, German economist and statistician (b. 1911)
- 1986 - Hank Greenberg, baseball player (b. 1911)
- 1987 - Bill Bowes, English cricketer (b. 1908)
- 1989 - Georges Simenon, French author (b. 1903)
- 1989 - Ronald Syme, New Zealand-born classicist and historian (b. 1903)
- 1991 - Tom Tryon, American actor and novelist (b. 1926)
- 1991 - Dottie West, American singer (b. 1932)
- 1993 - Hervé Villechaize, French actor (b. 1943)
- 1995 - William Kunstler, American lawyer and activist (b. 1919)
- 1997 - Aldo Rossi, Italian architect (b. 1931)
- 2003 - Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist and conductor (b. 1921)
- 2003 - Lola Bobesco, Romanian-Belgian violinist (b. 1921)
- 2004 - Alphonso Ford, American basketball player (b. 1971)
- 2004 - Moe Norman, Canadian golfer (b. 1929)
- 2004 - James O. Page, American paramedic (b. 1936)

Holidays


- Roman festivals - start of the Ludi Romani a.k.a. Ludi Magni, until 19 September.
- RC Saints - Saint Rosalia, Saint Rose of Viterbo Also see September 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- 2005 - Father's Day in Australia and New Zealand (first Sunday in September)
- 2006 - Labour Day in Canada (first Monday of September)

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/4 BBC: On This Day] ----- September 3 - September 5 - August 4 - October 4 – more historical anniversaries ko:9월 4일 ms:4 September ja:9月4日 simple:September 4 th:4 กันยายน

1994

1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International year of the Family.

Events

January


- January 1 - North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect
- January 1 - Zapatista Army of National Liberation begins war in Chiapas, Mexico
- January 1 - Bantustans join South Africa
- January 6 - Nancy Kerrigan is clubbed on the right leg by an assailant under orders from figure skating rival Tonya Harding.
- January 8 - Valeri Polyakov began his 437.7 day orbit, eventually setting the world record for days spent in orbit.
- January 11 - Irish government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Fein
- January 14 - U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign the Kremlin accords which stop the preprogrammed aiming of nuclear missiles to targets and also provide for the dismantling of the nuclear arsenal in Ukraine.
- January 17 - 1994 Northridge Earthquake, magnitude 6.7, hits the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles at 4:31 am.
- January 20 - In South Carolina, Shannon Faulkner becomes the first female cadet to attend The Citadel but soon drops out.
- January 26 - A man fires two blank shots at Charles, Prince of Wales in Sydney, Australia.
- January 28 - The first trial of accused murderer Lyle Menendez ends in a mistrial. He and his brother Erik are later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
- January 31 - German luxury car manufacturer BMW announces the purchase of Rover from British Aerospace

February


- February 1 - In Portland, Oregon, Tonya Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly pleads guilty for his role in attacking figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. He accepts a plea bargain admitting to racketeering charges in exchange for testimony against Harding.
- February 3 - William J. Perry was sworn in as the 19th Secretary of Defense of United States
- February 5 - Byron De La Beckwith is convicted of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers
- February 6 - Serb mortar shell kills 68 civilians and wounds about 200 in a Sarajevo marketplace
- February 9 - Peace plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina announced (so called Vance-Owen peace plan)
- February 12 - Edvard Munch's painting, "The Scream," is stolen in Oslo. It is recovered on May 7
- February 22 - Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged with spying for the Soviet Union by the United States Department of Justice. Ames would later be convicted to life imprisonment and his wife would receive 5 years in prison
- February 24 - In Gloucester, local police begins excavations at 25 Cromwell Street the home of Frederick West suspected of multiple murders. On February 28, he and his wife are arrested
- February 25 - Kahanist Baruch Goldstein opens fire inside the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank. He kills 29 Muslims before worshippers beat him to death
- February 27 - Australian Federal Sports & Environment Minister Ros Kelly resigns over "The Sports Rorts Affair", where it was alleged that she apportioned money for community sporting projects in a pork barreling fashion.
- February 28 - US F-16 pilots shoot down four Serbian fighter aircraft over Bosnia for violation of the Operation Deny Flight and its no-fly zone

March


- March 1 - A lone terrorist kills Ari Halberstam on an attack on 14 Jewish students on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City. [http://www.arihalberstam.com]
- March 1 - South Africa cedes Walvis Bay to Namibia.
- March 1 - Mary Ellen Withrow begins term of office as Treasurer of the United States, serving under President Bill Clinton.
- March 4 - Four terrorists are convicted for their roles in the World Trade Center bombing which killed six and injured more than a thousand.
- March 6 - Referendum in Moldova results in the electorate voting against possible reunification with Romania.
- March 7 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music that parodies of an original work are generally covered by the doctrine of fair use.
- March 12 - A photo by Marmaduke Wetherell, previously touted as 'proof' of the Loch Ness monster, is confirmed to be a hoax.
- March 12 - The Church of England ordains its first female priests.
- March 16 - In Portland, Oregon Tonya Harding pleads guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution for trying to cover-up an attack on figure skating rival Nancy Kerrigan. She is fined $100,000 and banned from the sport.
- March 23 - At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated. Mario Aburto Martinez is arrested for the crime and confesses on the same day.
- March 27 - A tornado outbreak occurs in Southeastern United States. One tornado hits the United Methodist Church in Piedmont, Alabama killing 22. This outbreak is the biggest tornado event of 1994.
- March 28 - In South Africa, Zulus and African National Congress supporters battle in central Johannesburg killing 18.
- March 31 - The journal Nature reports the finding in Ethiopia of the first complete Australopithecus afarensis skull (see Human evolution).

April


- April 6 - Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and president of Burundi Cyprien Ntaryamira died when a missile shoots down their jet near Kigali, Rwanda. This is taken as a pretext to begin the Rwandan Genocide
- April 7 - The Rwandan Genocide begins in Kigali, Rwanda.
- April 8 - Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, is found dead in Seattle, Washington. He had committed suicide three days earlier.
- April 16 - Voters in Finland decide to join the European Union in a referendum.
- April 20 - Paul Touvier is found guilty of ordering the execution of 7 Jews when he was serving in the Vichy France Milice
- April 21 - Red Cross estimates that hundreds of thousands of Tutsi have been killed in Rwanda
- April 22 - Former American President Richard Nixon dies.
- April 25 - End of term for Sultan Azlan Muhibbudin Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Yusuff Izzudin Shah Ghafarullahu-lahu as 9th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- April 26 - Tuanku Jaafar ibni Almarhum Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Yang di-Pertuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan becomes the 10th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- April 26 - South Africa holds its first fully multiracial elections.
- April 30 - Formula One driver Roland Ratzenberger of Austria, age 32, dies in a high-speed, single-car crash in the practise session for the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy

May


- May 1 - Formula One driver Ayrton Senna of Brazil, age 34, is killed in a high-speed, single-car accident during the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy
- May 6 - The Channel Tunnel, which took 15,000 workers over seven years to complete, opens between England and France. Passengers can now travel between the two countries in 35 minutes.
- May 9 - Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president
- May 10 - Illinois executes serial killer John Wayne Gacy by lethal injection for the murder of 33 young men and boys
- May 10 - An annular eclipse of the sun is visible across much of North America.
- May 10 - Punk rock band Weezer releases their eponymous debut that goes on to sell more than 3 million copies.
- May 12 - Hockey becomes Canada's official winter sport.
- May 31- Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have dinner at the Granita restaurant in Islington and allegedly make a deal on who will become the leader of the Labour Party, and ultimately, the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

June


- June - Iraq disarmament crisis: UN weapons inspectors Ritter and Smidovitch learn, through Israeli intelligence reports, that Qusay Hussein, Saddam Hussein's son, is the key player in efforts by the Iraqi government to hide the country's alleged illegal weapons
- June 6-8 - Ceasefire negotiations for the Yugoslav War begin in Geneva - they agree to one-month cessation of hostilities (which does not last more than a few days)
- June 12 - Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman are murdered outside her home in Los Angeles, California. O. J. Simpson is later acquitted of the killings, but is held liable in a civil suit.
- June 14 - Hacker Kevin Poulsen pleads guilty to seven counts of mail fraud, wire and computer fraud, money laundering, and obstruction of justice.
- June 14 - The New York Rangers defeat the Vancouver Canucks 4 games to 3 in the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.
- June 15 - As of 2004 the third highest grossing animated film of all-time, The Lion King, opens in theatres nationwide.
- June 15 - Israel and the Vatican establish full diplomatic relations
- June 17 - NFL star OJ Simpson and his friend Al Cowlings flee from police in his white Ford Bronco. The low speed chase, which unfolds live on television, ends up at Simpson's mansion in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, where he then surrendered to police.

July


- July - The planet Jupiter is hit by twenty one large fragments of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 over the course of six days.
- July 2 - Assassination of Colombian soccer player Andrés Escobar in Bogotá
- July 7 - Aden is occupied by troops from North Yemen.
- July 17 - Brazil defeats Italy 3-2 on penalties to win the Football World Cup 1994, after the game ended 0-0 after extra time.
- July 18 - In Buenos Aires, an explosion destroys a building housing several Jewish organizations killing ninety six and injuring many more. On 9 November 2005 Alberto Nisman Arentino prosecutor identified Hezbollah militant Ibrahim Berro responsible.
- July 25 - Israel and Jordan sign the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace which formally ends the state of war that has existed between the nations since 1948.
- July 25 - Phone Numbers through Australia start changing to eight digits (Mona Vale, Sydney 1st to change)

August


- August - 'Wollemia nobilis', a "fossil tree" discovered by bushwalker David Noble only 150 km from the largest city in Australia.
- August 1 - Fire destroys Norwich Central Library in the UK, including most of its historical records
- August 12 - Woodstock '94 begins. It is the 25 year anniversary of woodstock in