Why Nobody Can Fix This $21BN Floating Airport

[@TheImpossibleBuild]

Is this the most flawed airport design in the world?

[@muzkat101]

It is obvious that they miscalculated the height needed to ensure it would not subside or sink... keeping in mind erosion and natural subduction, and not sea-level rise. The only real issue now is to not abandon the airport but to incrementally rebuild over it; thereby, building it higher in sections where it is vitally needed most and gradually over other areas until it is high enough to last another 40 years. To do so, they need to sink under water cement deep enough as anchors to create pillars for support, then add stable topsoil filler to rise the foundation. I am pretty sure the whole project would cost a fraction of the previous build to rise and restabilize the foundation.

[@Handleyman]

Very good! 😉👍

[@bailvik6390]

Germany's "new" airport takes that crown since it has never opened after more then almost 14 years of construction. it is 4 years ago since it was supposed to open.

[@KevinNguyen-zn4vv]

It's man vs nature and costs. They could have over engineered the airport's height if they wanted to but that would cost a lot of $_$.

[@alexausberlin]

@@bailvik6390häh? Are you talking about Berlin Brandenburg Airport?

[@JDHitchman]

Just to be clear, this airport is NOT floating. It is built on man made islands.

[@laurentitolledo1838]

something is amiss with the video author

[@msenecal]

True... If the airport could float this problem wouldn't exist.

[@l3enjamin5in]

It's tricky. If the airport sinks it means that that soil below liquified. If the soil is liquified then the airport is somehow floating, just not by design.

[@richardbloemenkamp8532]

@@l3enjamin5in Still it is not floating. Floating means that the upwards force comes from pressure of displaced liquid. This airport is still relying on upwards force from mechanical support.

[@Unfluencer]

lies for likes. the heart of internet journalism.

[@computerjantje]

The solution is rather simple: Ask the Dutch to fix it. The Dutch are specialized in solving exactly this.

[@sabrinarodrigues629]

My thoughts exactly

[@markanthony1004]

You are right in that The Dutch know how to keep the water back, but this airport is in the Pacific. It's not the same, BUT maybe The Dutch(love them ngl) can do it. I think Italy should call them too...Miami Just freaking sink I hate that city with a burning passion

[@portcybertryx222]

@@markanthony1004bruh what’s your problem with Miami. It’s a great city

[@martentrudeau6948]

I'll sure Japan has already consulted the Dutch and probably from the airport's beginning. They have are a lot of unknown variables to deal with and they will make it work out of necessity.

[@Pepe-dq2ib]

​@@martentrudeau6948no, asia is a copycat continent, they can't innovate or create any new technology on their own. They will need western intelligence to fix this and it's simple to them, but japan is stubborn.

[@pullahuru9168]

If it was floating airport it would not sink

[@briancavanagh7048]

If its floating the airport would displace water to the weight and its relative volume of sea water.

[@mohamedshakaal1545]

Floating Objects Often Sink as pressure is applied on them

[@wongyoonchark5050]

airport shaking at every wavse passing across

[@youtubeuser6067]

Boats float and sink. That airport is subsiding under its own weight.

[@puntabachata]

Think of it as the set for the movie Waterworld. It sank several times during filming.

[@MGower4465]

"Eventually, the airport will stop sinking"...and be converted into a submarine base.

[@ARQtoBR]

😅😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@KevanTess]

Underwater mining robot test site.

[@SinlowMusic]

Damn! I was a Marine stationed in Japan until 2022. Some of my favorite memories were road-tripping from Hiroshima/Iwakuni to KSI/Osaka to pick up other service members. I was mind-blown the first time I drove on the airport and realized it was an island of its own. Beautiful drive. Side note; It was also very creepy during COVID as most shops looked abandoned inside. One of the creepiest/most depressing things I saw quite honestly. Lol

[@danlowe8684]

This is no different than New Orleans, San Francisco, Manhattan, and many other coastal cities that were built and/or expanded atop organic material that decomposes naturally, leaving a void that causes the weighty material above to sink.

[@crazylittlebigthings]

If japan can build Gundams. Japan can also fix an airport.

[@LKH165]

Use the Gundams to hold and lift the airport?

[@rvnmedic1968]

OK, what exactly is a Gundam?

[@ryand4533]

@@rvnmedic1968Fictional Robots that Japan in fact does not build.

[@MissCheeseE]

I flew to that airport last year, I went to visit my family in Hokkaido, then flew to Osaka in order to go to Kyoto via train.

[@robertop7602]

... e allora.......

[@KentBunn]

Maybe they should just build an airport at the site of the mountains they removed to get the rock to build this sinking mess.

[@charliechristie2949]

Good one !!

[@davidnevolo4402]

My thought exactly

[@dennisdrury-rg8ms]

@@davidnevolo4402 I thought of the same thing.

[@williamcarlson5405]

From WC USA, The engineers of this airport should have talked to the engineers that built the levees around New Orleans, in the USA, oh wait maybe they did! That could be why both are sinking and will be reclaimed by water in a shorted time than both thought they would!!!

[@martingonzalez529]

Mmmmmmmm?🤔

[@dloui5214]

liquefaction and soil consolidation played major role for this kind of infrastructures

[@kokonana4086]

For some odd reason, I'm thinking about Dubai's Palm Island Project all the way while watching this. Talking about Kasai, the ingenuity of Japanese engineering is remarkable here. Their method is simple yet works. They basically slide a piece of metal plate into the suspension column to keep the ground levelled.

[@Unfluencer]

lol! palm island is a disaster.

[@laksi0505]

Amsterdam airport is 12 meters below NAP, which means that Kansai Airport can also fall below the NAP without any problems, just a phone call to the Netherlands and they will solve the problem.

[@whisky3k]

The Dutch don't know shit about building in an earthquake-prone environment, though.

[@watchthe1369]

ooncrete grout injection? Drive some holes around the perimeter and make a sort of "batub by grouting with hydraulic curing grout?

[@watchthe1369]

once that stabilizes everything you can refill the sinking bowl and just do that every decade or so until everything finally hit bedrock or equibrilium

[@InspirationalSpaceship]

Concrete is made of sand. The ocean is one of the most powerful forces on earth.

[@J.E.W.S1967]

Wow, thank you for that. I learned so much from that video and I’m not breaking your balls. I’m being sincere. I never knew they had a floating airport in Japan. I never knew it was sinking so again thank you for the video. I hit liked. I hit subscribed. I can’t wait till the next video, John from South Jersey

[@Bal4833]

I was a mechanical engineer who worked structural engineers. I changed planes at this airport in 1996. I had enough time to walk around and found a display about its construction. The 2.2 million sand filled pipes would be called piles. The display called them piles but did not mention sand as I recall. In my experience in US construction I don’t recall sand being used in a pile let alone a pile installed under water. I believe the designers expected the mass of the airport to be supported on the piles.

[@takeruyamato6703]

It is estimated that it will take more than 20 years to settle. The Japanese land management laws actually require the filled lands to stand for at least two decades before any development starts. But loop holes were used to avoid such restrictions for the Kansai Airport. It will fix itself after 20 years and stop sinking. Every engineer was aware what would happen. But profit came first. No biggy!

[@rjones6219]

Going to make for interesting pre-take off calculations, with the runways below sea level.

[@noobsfansub]

At the price of refreshments for everyone I'm surprised it wasn't cheaper to build a new airport on the spot.

[@noobsfansub]

But man I just don't get it. In a country prone to earthquakes and typhoon, in an era when we're experiencing rising sea levels, building an airport there was very short sighted

[@jonlaurenzreyes1902]

@@noobsfansub they knew that sea lvl will rise the problem was they miscalculated that the weight of the airport will increase the speed of sinking

[@randallsmerna384]

They anticipated a sinking of 5.4 meters? That sounds extreme considering skyscrapers don't settle that much.

[@kurtwicklund8901]

Skyscrapers often are not built in the middle of an ocean bay.

[@mattcolver1]

I remember landing there shortly after it opened. Coming in for landing, looking out the window you feel like you're going to land in the ocean. You're so low over the water then at the last second there's the runway.

[@l.ls.8890]

One of the things I love about Japanese and Asians in general. They never give up trying to make things work, unlike Americans past and present do. They are defeatists when it comes to projects and give up or quit as the saying goes.

[@sofjanmustopoh7232]

During the built the construction committee decided the less than ideal compaction is enough . When engineering studies show further compaction to reduce sinking is needed . So here we are . Soon they would need a higher sea wall and one of the largest pumping facility .

[@pukavoket]

Next airport should be built on land, just level mountain tops, If they were able to fill..they can level!

[@edwardpatrickdetrafford-mo8347]

⚔️As a follower of this fascinating airport, since it inception; I’m thrilled to see this latest up date. Maybe ~ 25 ago when it was sinking, but had the jacks on top of the pylons; I felt that could finally be at peace. Until it was reported that the jacking system was maxed out. I did arrive at speculative solution, when there was no online place available for me to comment on it. Resistance: The first was because the clay acts in a similar way that aquifers do. Second was the extra weight being added with more asphalt to keep the airfield above water. One solution is to relieve the area of extra weight. But what do we use to keep its present elevation stable? I thought of a flood plain that raised every rainy season that put water weigh on the top of a concrete sewer infrastructure project I graded. Civil Engineers use wood chips from a local mill, above the sand that’s on top of the pipe, then the excavated native soil was added to the top of the wood chips, to counter the extra seasonal water weight. So, where beneath the airfield do we put this replacement, or what else besides pneumatic balloon materials filled with ~ air, is used? There’s always under the pinning procedure, to replace, the removed materials. Removal of the surface in a cylinder shape like the manholes used for infrastructure pipes maintenance, dug to a allowable depth, then added the above suggestion for replacement; that is done continually throughout the surface, could relieve enough weight/ pressure. My idea has also come from a Star Trek series, that when crews were faces with an alien invasion force, that increased their offensive power each time, the crew increased their level of defences. Finally, when it was decided to back off the defensive tactics, then so, did the alien’s force. Good luck. Thanks for the update. 🛡️

[@brucewilson1958]

If they had built it on pillars set on bedrock and an I-beam substructure it would have worked. Or, if they had floated it on helium balloons from Walmart.

[@bobsmith3983]

That's the big mistake they made not having the concrete base of the airport set on top of the piles instead of the fillers in between the airport base and the top of the pile structure. The filler is oozing out the sides and compacting between the piles.

[@seanstevenson7592]

Thank you for this video.I never knew this even existed. Was good content, good speeds?Please keep it up with more interesting videos

[@treefarm3288]

Interesting to learn about this airport I have used a few times. Thanks.

[@Mano-z7t]

I don’t know how someone can think of a project with these many problems to face and then complete it. We really have crazy people in this world who can think big and actually execute the project. Ball of steel is required to complete such a project.

[@deanmason5827]

No balls of brains is what was needed and they came up very short there.

[@Binahx86]

Human "ingeniuty" always has a limit, especially when financial limit is one of those limits. Here the problem was assuming the underwater base would "fully compress", How??? It is not confined to a specific area so it wont "fully" compress. If small volumes of foamy water can have its way with beach sand, imagine underwater currents versus any type of sand.

[@alexanderdukeler3948]

This airport makes me think of the old Chiffon Margarine commercials from the 1970s, with their tagline, “It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature”.

[@YoitsAmar-x6x]

So if they know it will stop sinking at some point and it can be raised/adjusted with hydraulics, why not just build new and higher concrete walls around it to protect it from water?

[@ManuelGarcia-ww7gj]

Is the airport floating, or is it sinking? Kind of hard to have it both ways, yes?

[@Kaitheroleplayerfriends]

Don’t worry.they are just making it more higher every few years

[@Handleyman]

So why didn’t they make it a truly floating airport? Surely it would have been considerably cheaper and quicker to build.

[@gijbuis]

I have no doubt that there are plenty of ideas from highly competent engineers about how Kansai Airport can be saved. You just simply avoided mentioning these plans in this video!

[@ChiefsFanInSC]

Engineers ALWAYS are too conservative with their estimates. When the engineers said, "the island will sink x meters", the builders should have just tripled that number.

[@8ight6ix0z]

Me with my random ideas, and zero experience in construction, I would say, increase the surface area around the airport a little by extending the edges of the concrete base and build a wall around the airport.

[@Jude74]

They will build a replacement in the area nearest to the mainland and use the old islands as a buffer. Thats the only possible solution. Japan routinely replaces its buildings because of substantial and frequent earthquakes. They knew they would have to do this again someday.

[@stephenc2296]

I save beach land daily. I inject slow curing resin that hardens into sandstone.

[@rmzk1783]

If the sea bed is shallow just drill from the surface and install concrete piles into the solid parition of the sea bed. Use large rocks to create a barrier from waves on the side facing the largest body of water.

[@ltsBorrowed]

94 is not 35 years ago 🤣🤣🤣

[@TreHollywood]

I’m 30 not 35

[@Al-oe8ib]

Opened then, construction began 5 years before that

[@chrisdooley1184]

I remember watching all the specials on Discovery Channel detailing how this was being built back in the nineties and how groundbreaking the engineering was….until now I guess 😂

[@phgamer4393]

their mistake was not making a artificial barrier reef.

[@d.f.9064]

After owning a sailboat, I now live in the mountains and I will never own anything exposed to seawater again. It ruins everything, rapidly.

[@XavierAbbot]

Remember always that you not only have the right to be an individual, you have an obligation to be one.

[@briancavanagh7048]

Potential repurposing of the facilities to a sea planes & flying boat port. Sunk costs?

[@geneappeal]

How come there was no mention of the fact that the seabed under the airport is Godzilla's underwater lair? Apparently he was so pissed at all the pilings punching through his rec room that he went to the nearest fault line he could find and shook it to sh*t. That was the real cause of the 1995 earthquake.

[@seanwalters1977]

Tokyo Disney sits on reclaimed land much like this airport and as far as I know hasn't had problems. Pretty wild!

[@jeffw8218]

It’s pretty simple. They should have NEVER created it so far away from the coastline. Instead, they should’ve expanded the coastline to include the airport, as well as more land for offices, condos, apartments, and a bigger seawall. Building it so far away from the coast was an exercise in hubris.

[@marsbearmcw3050]

I’ve used this airport and it’s amazing. Much better than the nightmare at narita.

[@ltdees2362]

🤣I say to "hector" with the whole damn sinking mess...whatever a "hector" is 😛

[@timmied8461]

"Hector" is the guy whom built the airport! 🤣

[@ltdees2362]

@@timmied8461 Lol !! poor Hector better find a bigass mountain to fill in that bigass sink hole 🤣

[@johnjones5354]

Floating? You can't possibly believe that airport is FLOATING!!

[@retepeyahaled2961]

I think it is impossible to simply lift the entire airport. You can only demolish it, heighten the island and rebuild the airport. And all has to be done in stages, because meanwhile the airport has to stay in use, I guess.

[@markbarta2369]

The airport buildings were built on jacks as they expected settlement. Just not as much as they're experiencing. So it's basically an infill/stabilization project and what is involved in stabilizing it... If it is even possible, which nobody is certain of.

[@scottmarquardt3575]

Raise the nearest mountain. Build a conveyor to send the dirt to the airport

[@paulstanak689]

If you think you can push back the ocean…try very hard to think again…if you can !!!

[@roguephoenix]

just planning that alone, i would have thought they would put more than one entrance/exit to the island just in case something happens. also they should have figured some liquefaction would happen considering it's earthquake country.

[@Agapimo]

Coupled with the varying rates of sea level rise, this seems like it was KNOWN to be structurally unsound from the beginning. Perhaps a truly FLOATING SUBPLATFORM would be the only lasting solution. I lived in Nagasaki prefecture and Nagoya city and Japan is UNIQUE in that it refuses to build much on hillsides, unlike cities such as Los Angeles which makes for beautiful nature preserving landscapes, but wastes arable land for cities.

[@osmorof_a]

It looks like floating but its a reclaimed land on sea. Best to save it is making a perimeter wall that is more than 12m high similar to their tsunami walls. Like Holland it is already below sea level prior to the effects of global warming.

[@FizzleFX]

"I build my airport in the ocean" "Oh no! It sinks into the ocean!" .... URRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH

[@onexoxtoo]

They expected it would sink and has the solution for it, only that the sinking rate is faster so they have to work faster and cost more.

[@halporter9]

Obviously pumping water deep below the airport won’t help, probably hurt. Sometimes this can help in areas where sinking is partly due to groundwater / petroleum has been pumped out over the years. Given possible liquefaction of the clay, it would have to below anyway.

[@tommybotts]

Why didn't they just build a huge keel underneath like a ship?

[@CarlAylen]

It’s NOT a ‘floating’ airport👎👎

[@hongqi5734]

Underwater airport to the underwater world. 😂

[@billy.7113]

👍👍 for your 👎👎

[@cwg73160]

⁠@@billy.7113 Was the actual upvote not good enough for you? Did you need to comment that you were giving them an upvote?

[@elfulano5884]

Correct! It is a "SINKING" airport!

[@67cutlass442]

i have a simple solution if anyone here can please notify japan. first, it is obvious that at some point it will stop sinking. however this will put it below sea level. it is important to note that typhoon or heavy rains must be removed constantly with pumps during the rains. here is my proposal. at the outer edge where the sea walls are located, you must pile up more dirt. this "island" will become like a volcano type of island. meaning no sea water surges can make it over the outer edge. the bridge may have to be raised at some point. the dirt piled high, will also hide the airport from neighboring neighbors. these new dirt walls must be fitted with trees and shrubs to help with erosion and wind damage. then in approximately 100 years, new layers of runways etc will raise it up even higher. since the buildings are able to be raised, the electrical connections will need to be extended and plumbing as well. essentially the mistakes made here were not raising the island high enough on the initial opening. this is evident by the island sinking more than predicted. when it comes to construction, you must think outside the box especially when this much money and resources are going into things. my opinion is a large hotel / resort / casino should be built on the island, one that is very heavy and must be supported ten fold of what the airport is. this mega resort will be self contained with solar and wind turbines, salt water desalination and completely solo like the wall going up in arab country. also crypto will only be used inside. PULSECHAIN coin $0.00006

[@runningajar8259]

Is the clay underneath acting the same way as someone stepping in mud? Hopefully someone suggested driving pipes outside the sea walls and leaving the inside unfilled to see if it bends from sinking.

[@TylerRayMattersRUAC]

Build a cross metal screen underneath it. And put a bunch of floats on the sides.

[@winstonhewett6679]

I flew into this airport in August 2000. I thought we were landing on an aircraft carrier! LOL!

[@piotrberman6363]

With the cost of the islands of the order of 1000 USD per m sq, perhaps a truly floating island could be build, with sides and the bottom from reinforced concrete? This shell could be filled with something lighter than water, perhaps hollow concrete blocks...

[@3mmdm32]

Hey, New Orleans is below water level and sinking. Pump manufacturers make a mint.

[@iliketacos6067]

WALLS AND PUMPS thats all i gotta say

[@bobsmith3983]

Precisely.

[@Itsbrettjones]

This is why Jesus said dont build your house on the sand

[@Likeomgitznich]

Start pumping that foam stuff under the island 😂

[@mortifinkenbein9559]

The more important question: Why did the developers believe, that building an airport on artificial Islands in an ocean was a good idea to begin with? 🤔🙄

[@evernam993m8]

Poor decision and corruption? Oh, japan is pure clean, I guess

[@sullivan912]

"The project was first floated..." I saw what you did there!

[@codydabest]

I have never even once heard anyone call Japan a large country...

[@OzzyTrespalacios]

Floating airport? Come on!

[@mrMacGoover]

You know the Bible talks of a parable of the unwise building their house upon the sand but the wise building upon the rock, it metamorphic but also rings true the real world as well.

[@Mano-z7t]

Bullshit. 😂

[@mrMacGoover]

@@Mano-z7t Says the idiot who rarely has so much as glanced at a Bible.

[@CireProductions]

The foundation of the entire island should have been adjustable under the sea as well as the buildings. Raise and lower when needed to avoid this. Yes! That is more cost but it would be worth it.

[@mandoreforger6999]

They will simply need to raise the sea wall and add additional landfill over the existing runways and repave them. The buildings were designed to be jacked up on their columns so they can be raised gradually. It is misleading to say they don’t know how to fix it. This was always expected and the fix was designed into the plan.

[@Nail56]

Actually, the've stoped the sinking with 999 steel pilings. This has been so successful they're going to build another island,

[@kyzoaryant9905]

It easy to fix fillup to 100m above the sea

[@timothychanthamala576]

I’m just here for the float jokes

[@inherentmirth5180]

This is not the world's most flawed airport. That honor goes to Quebec's disasterous Mirabel Airport.

[@Xander-dx6mw]

When it was built, it had an expected life of 60 years. That would be 2050, so in theory they would rebuild, or build a new airport by that point.

[@noelht1]

Looking out of the side windows you must be like “this mofo Finna land in the sea”!

[@RezaSalamat-c9p]

Wait until Godzilla hears about this :)

[@zerg_burger]

Make it NERV headquarters

[@acswu2617]

to build a castle on sand what have you get at last?

[@cengeb]

The Dutch have been living below sea level since day 2...they know water control

[@straymusic]

At 4:45 man, that's a lot of Hectors

[@iwantmykidssusan4941]

Surely there’s a natural island off the coast of Japan that fits the criteria of building an airport on it. Close to mainland Large WONT SINK Uninhabited However, I must say whoever greenlit the idea of moving a mountain off of Japan is a genius. The less weight on the island, the more land Japan will have when ocean levels rise.

[@Strange_Armour]

Since they excavated 3 mountains anyway, did anyone suggest building an airport in the space previously occupied by mountains? 🤔

[@LKH165]

2 things stick out: 1- why not build it on top of the mountain if they had all this work of leveling the mountain to dump on the water? 2- the main problem isn't the airport sinking but the water coming in, they only need to build a dam around it large enough that water doesn't flow into the airport. Also add some pumps around the dam just in case. I mean do that and the airport can sink another 5m below water level, as long as the airplanes have enough angle to land/take off that sinking shoudn't a be any problem

[@garyharris629]

Dams need bedrock, I’ll be surprised if it survive’s a big tsunami!

[@SeaseAdamos]

King of Reflection is an important one for the people

[@YourOldUncleNoongah]

Thats a LOT of Hecters!

[@dimensionaluniverse5215]

They better hope I don’t land there‼️

[@BenKlassen1]

This is why they pre-compress soils with a tall pile of dirt first on major projects like this now.

[@K7TZ]

When i read "floating" my stupid brain is thinking floating castle in the sky. Boy was I'm disappointed

[@jevonte-vb2pu]

Build a third island. Higher than the previous two. Close one island and raise it higher than the third. Repeat with second island.