The Japan Air Self-Defense ForceKomatsu Base (小松基地 Komatsu Kichi) shares the runway with civil aviation; the inland-side taxiway is used by the JASDF and the sea-side one by civilian flights. The base hosts a Kōkū-sai (air festival) every September, featuring demo flights by fighter and rescue aircraft as well as the Blue Impulse acrobat flight team. It often hosts technical competitions of the JASDF. The "Airspace G" is a large training airspace over the Sea of Japan to the north of the base.
The airport has a single passenger terminal building serving domestic and international flights. Its international cargo terminal, known as HIACT (Hokuriku International Air Cargo Terminal), is owned by a consortium of government and corporate entities and aims to serve as an international distribution center for cargo from Europe and other continents.[3] Its runway surface was upgraded in late 2006 to enable non-stop freighter flights to and from Europe and North America.
The airport was originally a base of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Construction of the first 1,500 m (4,921 ft) east-west and 1,700 m (5,577 ft) north–south runways was completed in 1944. The United States Armed Forces took over the base at the end of the war in 1945 and used the site as a radar facility. The airport saw irregular service to Osaka and Nagoya starting in 1955.[4]
The base was handed over to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force in 1958 and designated as a jet fighter base in 1960. Komatsu Base was formally inaugurated in 1961. Scheduled service to Osaka and Nagoya began in 1962, using Douglas DC-3 aircraft, followed by Fokker F.27 service to Tokyo in 1963. The airport's first international service was a charter flight from Hong Kong in 1973.[4]
Ishikawa Prefecture set aside funds for an airport promotion committee in 2012 amid expectations that the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen in 2015 would impact traffic on the Komatsu-Tokyo route.[5]
1960 The runway was extended to 2,400 m (7,874 ft). Designated as a shared airport for defense and civil.
1964 The runway was extended to 2,700 m (8,858 ft) to introduce F-104J.
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