Authorities in Osaka are considering a proposal to bring the area's three airports together under a common administration.
The plan involves the Osaka Kansai International Airport, Osaka Itami airport and Kobe airport, says a spokesman for Osaka Kansai.
A council comprising officials from the local governments is mulling the proposal, he adds.
"The plan is under discussion, and nothing has been decided yet," he says.
This proposal comes after a government panel froze subsidies to Osaka Kansai as part of a plan to cut wasteful spending.
The panel has ordered the three airports to review their roles before it would lift the freeze, says the Osaka Kansai spokesman.
"The condition is that the three airports must be coordinated," he says.
However, uniting the three airports will not be an easy task because each is managed by a different organisation, he adds.
Osaka Kansai is managed by Kansai International Airport, Osaka Itami is under the jurisdiction of the transport ministry and Kobe airport comes under the Kobe municipal government.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news