Tokyo airports — eerie reminder of virus' toll
An express train bound for the Narita International Airport departed Tokyo Station on time at 5:33 p.m. with only one passenger.
That same night, there was only one international flight listed on the departures board, to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. Every other outbound international flight was canceled.
The new normal brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
A traveler sits in an empty express train bound for the Narita International Airport in Tokyo, April 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Tokyo’s Haneda and Narita airports can handle more than 100 million passengers a year. The airports were set to welcome people from all over the world. Now, roughly one-third the world’s countries are on Japan’s banned entry list. Those that do make it to Tokyo arrive in rain ponchos or protective suits with goggles and gloves.
The cavernous terminals, already decorated in the Olympics’ colors, logos and mascots, are virtually silent. Rare footsteps and rolling suitcases echo throughout the buildings.
An animation promoting Tokyo 2020 still plays on large display boards. The videos should be running, not for the almost 100 days until the cauldron was to be lit during the opening ceremonies, but for another year and three-plus months until the postponed Games are set to open.
A driver looks at an arrivals board after most incoming flights have been canceled due to the new coronavirus at the Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, April 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A plane sits on a rain-soaked tarmac as the nearly empty ticketing area is reflected in the window at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, April 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A worker cleans rails in the arrivals area decorated with banners promoting the Tokyo 2020 Olympics at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, April 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A traveler wearing a protective suit waits in line to check in to board a plane at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, April 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A couple hugs in the empty ticketing area at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, April 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A man sits on a bench near the ticketing area at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, April 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A traveler wearing a hazmat suit tries to calm his dog sitting in a cage before boarding a plane at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, April 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A traveler walks through an observation deck overlooking runways at the Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, Friday, April 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A man drinks his soda in a food court closed for the day at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, Wednesday, April 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The airport driveway is empty with most international flights canceled at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, April 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A worker collects carts in the empty ticketing area at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, April 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A worker runs a floor scrubber in the shopping area at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, Wednesday, April 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A worker cleans cart handles at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, April 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A net is laid around a Tokyo 2020 merchandise store after the shop closed for the day at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, April 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A woman walks through the empty ticketing area at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, April 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
A woman visits an observation deck overlooking runways at the Haneda International Airport in Tokyo, April 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Text from AP News story AP PHOTOS: Tokyo airports — eerie reminder of virus' toll by Jae C. Hong