Iwakuni Passenger Terminal

Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni is located on the main Japanese island of Honshu, 300 miles West of Osaka and 30 miles Southwest of Hiroshima. Tokyo is 600 miles East of Iwakuni. The city of Iwakuni has a population of 147,000 and lies at the eastern end of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Its southeastern part faces the Seto Inland Sea and its northern part adjoins Otake City in Hiroshima Prefecture. The city is backed by mountains and its front borders the Seto Inland Sea for a distance of some 1.3 kilometers.

SPACE-A Facts:

Space Available travel is a morale program for our military, eligible DoD employees, and eligible family members.  Our primary mission is to support our war fighters with movement of Department of Defense cargo and space required (duty) passengers. Additional considerations such as; safety, aircraft configuration, maintenance, and aircrew size affect the number of seats available. Once requirements are met, available seats will be offered to passengers awaiting transportation. The Space-A program is a by-product of the military mission and is not funded in the DOD budget. Passengers must be prepared to possibly wait a few days or arrange alternate transportation. Base lodging and off base transportation is not always available. Travelers should have additional funds available to cover any unforeseen expenses.

MCAS Iwakuni (IWA) is classified as a “Hard Lift” military cargo transportation location due to the limited number of scheduled inbound and outbound airlift missions.  The air station does experience a limited flow of AMC Special Assignment Airlift Missions and service-organic airlift supporting routine and contingency deployment operations. The single Air Mobility Command (AMC) Channel mission at MCAS Iwakuni is the Patriot Express.

The Patriot Express (PE) is a contracted commercial Boeing 767 aircraft charter mission that provides support for duty travelers and their family members. Air Mobility Command schedules these international charter flights on a regular basis to and from commercial airports (AMC commercial locations) and/or military terminals. The PE originates in Seattle, Washington, flying to Kadena AB, Okinawa, through Yokota AB, and MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, and back to Seattle. This flight offers an array of in-flight amenities and operates the same as a scheduled commercial airline. The Patriot Express is also an excellent provider of troop morale by offering limited "Space-A" Travel opportunities to and from the United States.

Base Transportation:

The installation does have a free base shuttle service that runs every 30 minutes.  Service hours are Monday through Saturday 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. Sundays and Holidays; 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. If you need to contact the Base Shuttle Bus Office, dial 253-3944.