Hiroshima-Nishi Airport

Hiroshima–Nishi Airport Hiroshimanishi Airport 広島西飛行場 Hiroshima Nishi Hikōjō
IATA: HIW ICAO: RJBH
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Hiroshima Prefectural Government
Location	Hiroshima, Japan
Elevation AMSL	9 ft / 3 m
Coordinates	34°22′01″N 132°24′50″E / 34.36694°N 132.41389°E / 34.36694; 132.41389Coordinates: 34°22′01″N 132°24′50″E / 34.36694°N 132.41389°E / 34.36694; 132.41389
Website	www.hij.airport.jp/nishi/
Map
RJBH Location in Japan
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 04/22 1,800 5,906 Asphalt/Concrete
Source: Japanese AIP at AIS Japan

Hiroshima–Nishi Airport (広島西飛行場, Hiroshima Nishi Hikōjō^?) (IATA: HIW, ICAO: RJBH) is an airport in Nishi Ward, located 3.1 NM (5.7 km; 3.6 mi) southwest of Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.

Hiroshima's first airport, Yoshijima Airport (吉島飛行場^?), opened on a nearby island in Naka-ku, Hiroshima in 1940. It was largely destroyed during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, but was used during the occupation of Japan as a radar base by the Royal Australian Air Force 111 Mobile Fighter Control Unit, and through the 1950s as a landing field for gliders and single-engine piston aircraft.

Following the end of World War II, the Japanese government approved a plan for a new airport in a location which could take advantage of Hiroshima's natural river topography to keep aircraft from flying over residential areas. Hiroshima Airport opened on September 15, 1961 and was initially managed by the Ministry of Transport.