---
title: "KIX is which airport? Osaka"
description: "KIX is Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan. Why the code is KIX and not something you could guess, what RJBB means, and the codes it gets mixed up with."
url: https://atoneplace.net/airport/kix/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What airport is KIX?

**KIX is: Kansai International Airport**

Osaka, Japan

## Why the code is KIX

Kansai, plus the filler X.

The airport authority or a contemporaneous record states this directly.

## The airport

- **IATA code:** KIX
- **ICAO code:** RJBB
- **Airport:** Kansai International Airport
- **City:** Osaka, Japan
- **Opened:** 1994
- **Code origin:** Documented

Kansai is built on an artificial island in Osaka Bay and has been sinking since it opened — considerably faster than the engineers predicted, which is why the terminal sits on hundreds of individually adjustable columns. It has never lost a passenger's luggage in over thirty years of operation, a record the airport publicises and nobody has disproved.

## The other code, RJBB

Every airport has two codes. The three-letter IATA code, KIX, is the one on your boarding pass and your luggage tag, and it is assigned for commercial use. The four-letter ICAO code, RJBB, is the one pilots and controllers use, and it is assigned geographically: the first letter or two identify the region, so every airport in the same part of the world shares a prefix. That is why RJBB looks nothing like KIX.

## Common questions

### What airport is KIX?

Kansai International Airport, in Osaka, Japan.

### Why is Osaka's airport called KIX?

Kansai, plus the filler X.

### What is the difference between KIX and RJBB?

KIX is the IATA code, used commercially — tickets, timetables, luggage tags. RJBB is the ICAO code, used operationally by pilots and air traffic control, and assigned geographically by region.

## Related pages

- [Japan](https://atoneplace.net/country/japan/)
- [The flag of Japan](https://atoneplace.net/flag/japan/)
- [Airport codes in Japan](https://atoneplace.net/airport/in/japan/)
- [What airport is HND?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/hnd/)
- [What airport is NRT?](https://atoneplace.net/airport/nrt/)

## Sources

- OurAirports — OurAirports (https://ourairports.com/data/) [Public domain]