Photos: Tokyo airports — eerie reminder of coronavirus' toll

The cavernous terminals are virtually silent, rare footsteps echo throughout the buildings

Last updated: April 14, 2020 | 13:23

AP and compiled by Balaram Menon, Digital Content Editor

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An express train bound for the Narita International Airport departed Tokyo Station on time at 5:33 p.m. with only one passenger.

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That same night, there was only one international flight listed on the departures board, to the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. Every other outbound international flight was canceled. The new normal brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

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Tokyo's Haneda and Narita airports can handle more than 100 million passengers a year. The airports were set to welcome people from all over the world. Now, roughly one-third the world's countries are on Japan's banned entry list.

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Those that do make it to Tokyo arrive in rain ponchos or protective suits with goggles and gloves.

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The cavernous terminals, already decorated in the Olympics' colours, logos and mascots, are virtually silent. Rare footsteps and rolling suitcases echo throughout the buildings.

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A woman walks through the empty ticketing area at Haneda International Airport in Tokyo

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A plane sits on a rain-soaked tarmac as the nearly empty ticketing area is reflected in the window at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo

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A worker cleans cart handles at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo

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A man sits on a bench near the ticketing area at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo

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A traveler walks through an observation deck overlooking runways at the Haneda International Airport in Tokyo

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A man drinks his soda in a food court closed for the day at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo

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A couple hugs in the empty ticketing area at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo

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A worker runs a floor scrubber in the shopping area at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo

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A Tokyo 2020 logo is displayed behind the empty ticketing counters at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo

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The airport driveway is empty with most international flights canceled at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo

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A tourist purchases a bus ticket in the arrivals area at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo, Wednesday, April 1, 2020. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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A worker collects carts in the empty ticketing area at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo

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A traveler wearing a protective suit waits in line to check in to board a plane at the Narita International Airport in Nairta, near Tokyo

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A woman visits an observation deck overlooking runways at the Haneda International Airport in Tokyo

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