TOKYO — International travel just got a bit easier for troops stationed in the greater Tokyo area.

Haneda Airport, just a 15-minute train ride from downtown Tokyo, opened a fourth runway and new international terminal Thursday.

By February, Haneda plans to offer regularly scheduled flights to 17 foreign destinations, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu, London, Paris and Vancouver.

The new service means travelers won’t have to get to Narita International Airport — about 90 minutes by train from Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station — for international travel.

Trista Ashton, a travel agent at Yokota Air Base’s Information, Ticket and Travel office, said she expects base customers will interested in the new flights.

“I would expect to see more requests to fly out of Haneda because it’s closer to the base,” she said.

Ashton said it’s too early to tell whether ITT will begin offering the same sort of flight packages from Haneda that they currently offer from Narita.

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