SEOUL – South Korea’s main aviation gateway Incheon will be expanded by 2024 under a 4.84 trillion-won (US$4.2 billion) investment to meet the rising passenger traffic, the transport ministry said.
In recent years, an increased number of low-cost carriers have joined full-service carriers to absorb soaring demand on domestic and international routes,
The expansion involves the building of a fourth runway and expanding the second passenger terminal and other facilities, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
Incheon International Airport Corp., the operator of Incheon International Airport, will be making the investment in stages over the next five years that is expected to raise the gateway’s total capacity to 106 million passengers annually.
This comes as the number of passengers at Incheon airport is expected to hit over 100 million by 2030, the airport’s operator said in a statement.
"In recent years, an increased number of low-cost carriers have joined full-service carriers to absorb soaring demand on domestic and international routes,” the statement said.
With the planned expansion, the airport’s two terminals are expected to each handle more than 50 million passengers.
The ministry expects the expansion will make Incheon airport the third largest in terms of passenger accommodation by 2024, after Dubai International Airport and Istanbul Airport.
Previously, IIAC injected 4.9 trillion won to build the second terminal from June 2009 to December 2017. In January last year, it began commercial operations.
Full-service carriers Korean Air Lines, Delta Air Lines, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines currently operate out of the second terminal, while Asiana Airlines and 85 other airlines use the first terminal.