| 1 February | •
| Space Shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry, killing all 7 crew |
| 13 February | •
| B-747-200 of Japan Asia Airways made emergency landing at Naha Airport after 50-cm hole found in fuselage during flight 400 km north of Naha |
| 17 February | •
| Congestion Tax (£5 or about ¥1000) levied on all traffic entering City of London |
| 18 February | •
| Arsonist set fire to subway train in Daegu, Korea, leaving at least 196 dead |
| 25 February | •
| JR Kyushu announced opening of southern section (Shin Yatsushiro–Nishi Kagoshima, 127.6 km) of Kyushu Shinkansen (Hakata–Nishi Kagoshima, 250 km) in March 2004 |
| •
| Kinki Nippon Railway Co., Ltd. (Kintetsu) announced plan to securitize and sell Abenobashi Terminal Building in Osaka for ¥65 billion with goal of reducing loans (¥1.7 trillion on consolidated basis) |
| 1 March | •
| Problems with Flight Data Processing (FDP) system at Tokyo Air Traffic Control Center of Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's (MLIT) caused cancellations of 203 domestic flights and delays to 1443, inconveniencing 270,000 people |
| •
| Train belonging Alishan Forest Railway (73.0 km) derailed off bridge at Alishan in central Taiwan, killing 17 people and injuring about 150 |
| 6 March | •
| Air Algerie B-737 crashed on takeoff at Tamanrasset Airport, killing 103 passengers and crew with one survivor |
| •
| MLIT approved transfer of Kinki Nippon Railway's Hokusei Line (20.4 km, 762-mm gauge) to Sangi Railway from 1 April |
| 14 March | •
| All Nippon Airways (ANA) Group announced total passengers carried on domestic and international flights in 49-year business history passed 1 billion |
| 15 March | •
| JR West announced start of electrification of Obama Line (84.3 km) and future through operations of Kyoto–Higashi Maizuru express |
| 19 March | •
| Coalition forces launched invasion of Iraq |
| •
| Tokyo's Teito Rapid Transit Authority (TRTA) subway opened 6-km extension to Hanzomon Line between Suitengu-mae and Oshiage, allowing through operation on Tobu Railway's Isezaki and Nikko lines and creating 100-km link from northern Kanto through central Tokyo |
| •
| JR Central announced opening on 1 October 2003 of Shinagawa Station (shinkansen) under construction between Tokyo and Shin Yokohama stations on Tokaido Shinkansen with service stops mainly by fastest Nozomi trains |
| •
| JR East started 9 days of high-speed (360 km/h) tests between Urasa and Niigata on Joetsu Shinkansen using latest Series E-1000 trains |
| •
| ANA announced plans to establish airline business think-tank (provisionally named All Nippon Airways Institute) with spin off from main group in April 2004 |
| 20 March | •
| JR Kyushu announced Tsubame name for shinkansen trains running between Shin Yatsushiro and Kagoshima Chuo |
| 21 March | •
| Crashed computer controlling ANA's domestic routes caused cancellation of 150 flights and delays to about 300, affecting about 102,000 people travelling through Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) |
| •
| Hawaiian Airlines filed for protection under US Federal Bankruptcy Code, citing falling demand and rocketing fuel prices due to war in Iraq as well as increases in aviation insurance |
| 22 March | •
| International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced possible losses of US$10 billion by world's airlines as result of war in Iraq |
| 25 March | •
| JR Kyushu announced opening of redbrick Kyushu Railway Museum in Kita Kyushu City with exhibits including steam and electric locomotives |
| 26 March | •
| MLIT announced tests on Yosan Line between Tadotsu and Sakaide of free-gauge train for operations on shinkansen and other lines |
| 27 March | •
| Third-sector 3.1-km Kami-iida Link Line opened between Ajima and Heian-dori, linking Nagoya Railroad's Komaki Line with Meijo subway in central Nagoya and allowing direct connections to Komaki and elsewhere |
| 28 March | •
| Hijacker of Turkish Airlines A-310 Airbus carrying 203 passengers and crew overpowered when plane stopped to refuel in Athens |
| 31 March | •
| Cuban Airlines hijacker with hand grenade arrested when plane landed at Key West International Airport in Florida, USA |
| 1 April | •
| Air Canada, Canada's largest air carrier, filed for corporate reorganization in Toronto district court. De-facto bankruptcy attributed to public's reluctance to travel by air following terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and rising fuel prices due to Iraq War |
| 3 April | •
| Japanese government recommended postponing non-essential travel to China's Guandong province and Hong Kong due to spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) |
| •
| Central Linear Shinkansen Basic Scheme Study Committee formed by MLIT, JR Central, and others, announced initial estimates (including vehicles) for construction of 500-km line between Tokyo and Osaka as anywhere between ¥8.3 trillion and ¥9.9 trillion |
| 6 April | •
| JR East recorded record service speed of 362 km/h on high-speed test run of Joetsu Shinkansen (Series E2-1000) between Urasa and Niigata |
| 8 April | •
| JR East announced development of New Energy (NE) Train, world's first hybrid diesel locomotive featuring similar construction to low-pollution hybrid automobiles and regenerative electrical brakes |
| 10 April | •
| British Airways and Air France announced retirement of Concorde ultrasonic passenger jet at end of October 2003 due to prohibitive maintenance costs and declining passenger levels following crash outside Paris in 2001 |
| •
| Shiodome City Center ultra-high-rise multi-purpose development and The Old Shimbashi Station opened on site of Japanese National Railways (JNR) Shiodome Yard |
| 11 April | •
| Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology cancelled planned supersonic flight testing for joint international next-generation supersonic passenger plane at Japanese National Aerospace Laboratory after determining demand insufficient to justify huge investment |
| 15 April | •
| Keihan Electric Railway announced full adoption of rail miles programme by end of fiscal 2003, awarding points for travel miles |
| 18 April | •
| Culture Council of Agency for Cultural Affairs sent finding to Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology specifying red-brick Tokyo Station and seven other buildings as important cultural assets. Tokyo Station partially destroyed in WWII and now being restored by JR East to former condition at completion in 1914 |
| •
| Narita Airport Authority, Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways, Sagawa Express, and 12 other companies initiate joint research on luggage-free overseas trips with travellers' luggage picked up from home by express service, automatically checked-in and delivered to arrival airport for collection |
| 21 April | •
| US-based Southwest Airlines announced 14.3% earnings increase for January–March 2003 quarter, bucking worldwide industry trend |
| 30 April | •
| Hisatsu Orange Railway applied to Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for permit to operate Kagoshima main line between Yatsushiro and Sendai after opening of Kagoshima Shinkansen in March 2004 |
