Gimhae airport plan faces turbulence
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn presides over a special meeting of ministers to discuss administrative procedures to expand the Gimhae International Airport at the Government Complex in Seoul, Wednesday. / Yonhap
By Kim Bo-eun
The government’s decision to expand Gimhae International Airport instead of building a new airport in the southeastern region is drawing skepticism.
Critics point out that the construction of a new airport amid growing demand for air travel there came in the first place because expanding Gimhae was deemed unfeasible and in effective.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said Tuesday it would build a new runway, terminal and control tower at the airport. The airport expansion, set to be completed in 2026, is expected to be able to accommodate 40 million passengers yearly, up from the current 5.9 million.
This is the government’s alternative to meet the region’s growing demand for flights as the existing airport in Gimhae has reached capacity. The original plan had been to build an airport on either Gadeok Island in the port city of Busan or in the inland town of Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province.
There was a strong backlash from residents and regional governments of the two sites, but Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said Wednesday the government would push ahead with the alternative.
MOLIT said there would be no problems regarding safety and little issue regarding noise, but these were some of the key reasons for not expanding Gimhae each time it was proposed previously, in 2002 and 2007.
“Everyone is dumbfounded because the government, which has been saying expanding Gimhae was not feasible, now announces this is the best alternative,” said Saenuri Party lawmaker Yoo Seong-min.
Gimhae has Mount Dotdae to its north, so flights landing and taking off must do so to the south.
The new runway will be built away from the mountainous area, but concerns persist as bad weather conditions can pose risks.
“Safety is the priority of Busan citizens who cannot forget the trauma of Mount Dotdae,” Busan Mayor Suh Byung-soo said.
Suh’s remark referred to an accident in 2002 when a Chinese passenger plane landing at Gimhae crashed into the mountain, killing 129 and injuring 37 on board.
In addition, the airport, which was originally built as a military airport during the Japanese occupation (1910-45), continues to be used by the Air Force. The Air Force still uses one of the two runways, which is why the airport’s passenger capacity is so small.
Building an additional runway will enable the airport to increase its capacity, but if one of the runways were to be closed in an emergency, the airport would have difficulty managing passengers.
Airplane noise is another issue. Because the airport is located within city limits, flights are banned from taking off between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m.
“It will be hard for the airport to operate around the clock due to the noise — which means Gimhae cannot function as an international airport,” said Kim Do-eup, a Busan-based Saenuri Party lawmaker.
“Even if it were to operate 24 hours a day, compensation for residents would be astronomical.”