Narita International Airport Corporation

Founded on 1st April 2004, the corporation was established to manage Japan’s largest airport, Narita International Airport. The corporation aims to operate the airport in a manner that is smooth-running, safe and comfortable to better serve society. Headquartered in Narita City, Chiba, the corporation is structured around four core segments:

  • Airport operations: maintaining and managing the Narita Airport facilities

  • Retailing: operating shops on the airport premises (including duty-free shops)

  • Facility leasing: leasing commercial and office space, cargo warehouses, car park space and other facilities

  • Railways: major shareholder in railways directly connecting the airport and Tokyo

Issue

Transportation and communication networks sustained worse damage than was expected in the wake of the March 2011 earthquake resulting in teams dispatched from the emergency headquarters established to handle the disaster not being able to pass some of the worst hit areas. Having no other way of communication, these teams were rendered unable to carry out their role in the emergency taskforce.

Process

In light of the difficulties that surfaced, the management reviewed their disaster contingency* plan, looking for ways to improve it. It was discovered that in the aftermath of the earthquake, the internet was still up and running in metropolitan areas when everything else was down. This makes it a viable method of emergency communication.

By December 2011, V-CUBE Meeting was fully incorporated in the NAA’s contingency plan, while also being used to hold meetings between the headquarters within Narita Airport and the Tokyo office.

*Refers to measures against earthquakes, air crashes, epidemic outbreaks, storms, etc.

In emergency situations, V-CUBE Meeting is used to:

  1. Connect the emergency headquarters at Narita, the Tokyo office and the Port of Chiba for taskforce meetings

  2. Enable remote participation of taskforce meetings through computers and mobile devices

  3. Check on-site situation and status of facilities and hold face-to-face meetings with the management

Outcomes
  • Smooth interaction between the emergency headquarters and Tokyo office during emergency drills

  • In the event of a disaster, around 60 team members are able to participate via a single port by using a projection screen in one of the head office boardrooms

  • Live video feed provides visual confirmation to enable situation to be quickly and more accurately gauged and decisions to be correctly made

  • Number of methods used for contingency measures increased

  • Improved time and cost efficiency

Why V-CUBE Meeting?
  • Hassle-free setup on the computer that only requires an internet connection

  • Mobile communication to increase chances of interaction and improve time efficiency

  • Low initial investment that helps reduce cost

  • Able to meet tight setup schedule and fixed drill schedule

  • Availability, flexibility and rapidness of support

  • Monitoring of drills to alleviate major worries