NARITA, Chiba Pref. (Kyodo) Narita International Airport, the country's main international gateway, opened the long-awaited extension to its second runway Thursday.

With Runway B extended to 2,500 meters from 2,180 meters, Narita International Airport Corp., which runs the airport, hopes to boost traffic from March by 20,000 flight slots from the current 200,000.

All wide-bodied aircraft other than the heavyweight Airbus A380 can now land on the newly extended runway and longer-range flights to the U.S. West Coast, Moscow and other destinations can depart from it, it said.