Incheon Int'l Airport
Promises to Be Hub Port of
Northeast Asia

Gov't focuses on infrastructure expansion to enhance the competitive edge of the airport
The government sets its sights on becoming a global aviation powerhouse in the 21st century and raising its profile as the aviation hub of Northeast Asia.
"As part of its efforts to translate the vision into action, the government will continue to push ahead with a plan to transform Incheon International Airport with geological advantage and excellent site location into a port and logistics hub of Northeast Asia,"Yoo Han-jun, director general for air transport planning, Headquarters for logistics innovation at the Ministry of Construction and Transportation (MOCT), said in an interview with NewsWorld. To this end, he said, 45 detailed tasks in three areas and 21 tasks in building up a foundation for boosting demand, 8 in expanding infrastructure for supporting the airport and 16 for upgrading airport services have been implemented.
"Incheon International Airport (IIA) has more favorable conditions than its neighboring rivals in terms of geological location, future expansion and airport facilities."Director-General Yoo said. An expansion of the airport costs less because a vast site has been already secured, and IIA may be operated as a maritime airport around the clock. Incheon International Airport has price competitiveness with cheaper airport fares than its rival airports, he said. He cited an analysis of Incheon International Airport and its rival airports, aircraft arrival and departure costs stand at 318 for Kansai International Airport, 168 for Hong Kong and 192 for Shanghai, compared to IIA's basic figure of 100. The following are the excerpts of the interview.
Question: Would you explain the significance of the institution of Aviation Day and events celebrating this year's anniversary that falls on Oct. 28?
Answer: Aviation Day was designated on Oct. 30, 1981 to celebrate the inauguration of a Korean civilian airliner's maiden flight between Seoul and Busan on Oct. 30, 1948.
Those in the aviation industry hold a rally on the development of the industry during the anniversary day in a bid to raise public awareness toward the aviation industry and contribute to the advancement of the industry by encouraging those in the aviation industry and raise their awareness toward safety. This year's anniversary is advanced to Oct. 28 because Oct. 30 is a Sunday.
During the anniversary ceremony, Korea Air (KAL) Chairman Cho Yang-ho will be awarded with the Order of Civil Merit, Moran Medal in recognition of his contribution to elevate KAL to the level of the No. 1 cargo carrier in the world. Hankuk Aviation University President Hong Sun-kil will receive the Order of Civil Service Merit, Iron Tower in recognition of his contribution to the development of industry. Other award winners are three Industrial Service Medal awardees, including Yoon Byung-in, vice president of Asiana Airlines; four presidential citations, five prime minister's awards; and 20 construction and transportation minister prizes.
Q: Would you elaborate on the direction of government aviation policies?
A: The global aviation market registered an annual average of 4.9 percent during the decade between 1993 and 2003. The global passenger demand has slowed down in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the United States and the Iraqi War, and passengers and cargo volumes are predicted to grow an annual average of 6 percent by 2008. Countries in each region are scrambling for vintage points as hub ports with the construction of large-sized airports and competition is heating up on attracting giant airlines. In particular, Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, Narita and Kansai airports in Japan, Check Lap Kok Airport in Hong Kong and Changi Airport in Singapore are joining in the hub port race.
Korea ranks seventh in overall standing in the world placing 11th and second in terms of passenger and cargo handling volumes, respectively. Korea's international passenger and cargo volumes grew an annual average of 7.5 percent and an annual average of 8.7 percent, respectively, during the 10-year period between 1994 and 2004, riding on such factors as the spread of a five-day workweek system and a rapid growth in passenger demand to and from the Chinese economic sphere and global economic recovery. Domestic aviation demand has dropped due to the operation of the high-speed train KTX and the renovation of expressway networks.
The government set its sights on becoming a global aviation powerhouse in the 21st century and raising its profile as the aviation hub of Northeast Asia.
As part of its efforts to translate the vision into action, the government will continue to push ahead with a plan to transform Incheon International Airport with geological advantage and excellent site location into a port and logistics hub of Northeast Asia. To this end, 45 detailed tasks in three areas, 21 tasks in building up a foundation for boosting demand, 8 in expanding infrastructure for supporting the airport and 16 for upgrading airport services have been implemented.
Take a look into the specifics of the Northeast Asia airport hub project. The MOCT plans to hold aviation talks with major countries in order to build up an aviation network accessible to every part of the world while seeking to expand Korea's international passenger and cargo transportation capacity. It plans to establish trunk flight routes with major continents and diverse short and mid-distance tributary routes while developing passenger transfer and transshipment demand. Incheon International Airport now has 203 airlines operating about 1,700 flights per week on 203 aviation routes. Incheon Bridge and its approach roads are under construction to upgrade accessibility to Incheon International Airport and provide essential infrastructure for building the Incheon Free Economic Zone.
Secondly, the government plans to strengthen Korean national flag carriers' competitive edge to proactively cope with changes of the international aviation environment while building up institutional infrastructure for supporting the airlines.
The government is trying to do its best to secure additional flights of existing routes and explore new flight routes through aviation talks while seeking to deregulate the aviation industry, starting from international cargo transportation. It plans to have bilateral and multilateral approaches in consideration of Korean national flag carriers' competitiveness, counterpart countries' position and the Northeast Asia hub project.
Korea, China and Japan need to seek to form an aviation bloc among the Southeast Asian countries to reinforce the standing of the Asian and Pacific region that takes a lead in the global aviation market and create common interests. The region now has an about 24.4 percent share in the global aviation market. The Asian and Pacific, and global markets are forecast to grow approximately 6.3 percent and 3.5 percent on average annually, respectively. The three countries are creating an environment contributing to reach an open skies agreement among them by expanding mutual supply on a continuous basis and ameliorating regulations and pushing strategic alliances and active business cooperation.
Thirdly, the government is seeking to upgrade Korea's standing in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) so as to have a more say in decision-making and promote its status. It plans to secure roles and status corresponding to those of the world'seventh largest aviation powerhouse. Korea has ranked seventh in the overall standing of the global aviation industry and made the seventh largest contributions to ICAO. The nation was reelected to become one of the ICAO director member countries during the 34th ICAO General Meeting held in October 2004 following its first election to ICAO in October 2001.
Fourthly, it is making efforts to boost domestic aviation demand and to ensure the management efficiency of regional airports. Domestic aviation demand has declined due to the development of road and railway transportation means and sagging economy. The number of passengers on domestic flights dwindled from 25,639 in 1997 to 21,811 in 2001 and 18,893 in 2004. The domestic aviation demand dropped 11.9 percent in 2004 over a year earlier in the wake of the effects of the opening of the high-speed railway train KTX. Reinvigorating regional airports is necessary for boosting regional economies, ensuring balanced land development and offering aviation services to regional residents.
Efforts have been made to improve the financial structure of Korea Airport Corp. (KAC) and build up a system for efficient management of the corporation. KAC, which recorded 121.3 billion won in deficit in 2003, turned to 49.7 billion in black last year.
The government will strive to help regional airports expand short and mid-distance international flight routes through aviation talks aimed at launching new flight routes, expanding international flight frequencies and operating chartered flights. The flight frequency of regional airports rose from 158 times on 30 routes in 2003 to 177 times on 32 routes in 2004.
Local administrative bodies and KAC will be encouraged to implement projects aimed at boosting aviation demand, while they will be also asked to do business for profits.
The government will make efforts to invigorate the operation of low-cost carriers on an irregular basis, which is considered suitable for the lower demand of regional airports.
Lastly, the government tries to enhance efficiency of airport investments. Construction of new regional airports and the expansion of existing airport facilities will be reconsidered.
The government will focus on implementing projects designed to supplement airport safety facilities. It will also expand projects aimed at expanding airport facilities that are insufficient in meeting flight operation standards or facilities of the airports whose demand has surpassed the capacity.
It will reconsider the project size and the dedication date of new regional airports, Muan and Uljin airports based on the outcome of prospects for aviation demand.
The ministry plans to draw up the third five-year-long comprehensive airport development plan.
Q: Would you give the specifics of the government policies designed to strengthen the competitive edge of Incheon International Airport in connection with the Northeast Asian hub airport project?
A: Incheon International Airport, which made its debut as the new gateway to Korea in 2001, has emerged as one of the world? top-class international airports. Last year, the airport handled 24 million passengers per year and 2.13 million tons of cargo, ranking third and 10th in the world, respectively. Incheon accounted for 83 percent of annual international flight departures and arrivals while the airport handled 31 percent of the nation's total value of exports and imports.
Incheon International Airport (IIA) is rated to provide top-class services to airport users. A survey, conducted jointly by IATA and ACI in the first half of the year, showed that IIA placed first in the world in terms of services, up one notch from second in 2004.
The government has focused on expanding infrastructure and the hinterland area of the airport to raise the competitive edge of the IIA as the hub port of the Northeast Asia. It has decided to advance the dedication of IIA's expansion project by July 2008 to capitalize on an explosive aviation demand that is expected before and after the Beijing Olympics scheduled for August 2008 and the Shanghai Expo slated for May 2010. The ministry estimates that the Asian and Pacific region is predicted to surge 22 percent and 10.3 percent in terms of passengers and cargo, respectively, on average per annum during the next 10 decade.
IIA has more favorable conditions than its neighboring rivals in terms of geological location, future expansion and airport facilities. An expansion of the airport costs less because a vast site has been already secured, and IIA may be operated as a maritime airport around the clock. Incheon International Airport has price competitiveness with cheaper airport fares than its rival airports. According to an analysis of Incheon International Airport and its rival airports, aircraft arrival and departure costs stand at 318 for Kansai International Airport, 168 for Hong Kong and 192 for Shanghai, compared to IIA's basic figure of 100.
As part of its efforts to meet future aviation demand of IIA, the government has implemented projects to expand IIA and approach transportation infrastructure. It is seeking to secure a runway and aprons designed to handle such super-sized aircraft as A-380s with more than 550 seats. KAL plans to introduce 5 super-sized passenger planes during the period between 2007 and 2009, and foreign airlines operating to and from Incheon International Airport are expected to purchase 125 super-sized aircraft. Incheon International Airport? approach to transportation will be improved considerably as a 40.3 km-long railway connecting the airport and Gimpo Airport, a connection point of Seoul Subway Nos. 5 and 9, is to be dedicated in 2007. Details, including financing, of the second 20.7 km-long railway project that will link Gimpo Airport and Seoul Railroad Station by 2009 will be finalized. The Incheon Bridge is under construction to connect IIA and Songdo New City, part of the projected Incheon Free Economic Zone, with completion slated for October 2009.
As part of its efforts to build up infrastructure for inducing aviation demand, the government will conduct e-Marketing aimed at attracting global logistics companies to Incheon Airport Free Trade Zone and International Business Center.
It will revamp emigration and customs clearance procedure. A pilot radio frequency identification (RFID) project will be pushed to build up a cargo loading and unloading system. nw

Yoo Han-jun, director general for air transport planning, Headquarters for logistics innovation at the Ministry of Construction and Transportation

The Incheon International Airport handled 100 million passengers since its opening in 2001.