Document 72 Hours

Up and Away with Low-cost Carriers

Kansai International Airport is a 24-hour gateway to western Japan. 16 low-cost carriers operate out of this airport in Osaka, making it Japan's largest hub for budget airlines. Cheap air tickets bring a wide spectrum of passengers traveling domestically and overseas to and from the airport, including a young woman on her first visit to Japan waiting alone to be picked up after midnight; a businessman returning on the day's last flight from a work trip that began early the same day; and a woman who had visited her elderly parents to take care of them. Passengers have their own unique reasons for traveling on low-cost carriers. For 3 days, we watched the diverse personal stories that unfold in the airport's terminals.