Over 700 million have used Incheon International Airport

The number of people who have used the Incheon International Airport in South Korea has exceeded 700 million since its opening in March 2001, 18 years and five months ago from now, according to the Incheon International Airport Corporation on Wednesday.

Thanks to a growing demand for flights, the period for the Incheon airport to reach an additional 100 million passengers has shortened over time. For example, it took four years and seven months for the South Korean airport to reach its first 100 million passenger mark, but the subsequent time periods to reach additional 100 million passengers were four years and five months, three years, and two years and five months.

It only took one year and five months to move from the 600 million mark to the 700 million mark. The number of passengers who have used the airport last year broke a new record with 67.68 million people. The Incheon International Airport accommodates the fifth largest number of international passengers on a yearly basis in the world.

The Incheon International Airport Corporation is working on a four-stage construction project to be completed by 2023, including the expansion of Terminal 2 and the new addition of the fourth runway. Once the project is completed, the Incheon airport’s capacity to accommodate passengers will go up from 72 million per year to 100 million per year.

“We will strive to conduct the four-stage construction project without any delays to upgrade the I Incheon International Airport into a ‘mega-hub’ airport used by 100 million passengers per year,” said CEO Koo Bon-hwan of the Incheon International Airport Corporation.


Ho-Kyeong Kim kimhk@donga.com