Incheon International Airport in everyone's reach

A panoramic view of Incheon International Airport / Courtesy of Incheon International Airport Corp.

A check-in terminal to open at Gwangmyeong Station for travelers from non-capital area

By Jung Min-ho

A new airport check-in terminal will open at the Gwangmyeong KTX Station in March to give better access for travelers who live far away from Incheon International Airport, the nation’s main gateway.

Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) CEO Chung Il-young and Gwangmyeong Mayor Yang Ki-dae signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Tuesday to cooperate on the project, which is expected to save time and reduce inconvenience for air passengers from non-capital areas.

“With the city terminal, more people will be able to use the airport more conveniently. We will closely work with the Gwangmyeong City Government to open it as soon as possible,” Chung said after a signing ceremony at Gwangmyeong Cave in the city.

According to the IIAC, residents living outside Seoul and Gyeonggi Province account for 27.1 percent, or 11.5 million people a year, of all airport users. Among them, only 11.8 percent take KTX bullet trains mainly due to a shortage of direct trains to the airport.

Hence, most of them take cars instead to go to the airport, while some choose to get off at Seoul Station, where they can use check-in services and take the Airport Railroad.

The new city terminal at Gwangmyeong Station, through which 103 bullet trains from across the country pass every day, aims to solve the problem by providing direct limousine buses to the airport besides the check-in services.

Once completed, as early as March next year, the IIAC believes that 500,000 people will take advantage of the terminal in that year alone, and the number is expected to continue to rise.

At the terminal, air passengers can also go through check-in procedures, seat selection and baggage consignment.

Incheon International Airport Corp. CEO Chung Il-young, right, and Gwangmyeong Mayor Yang Ki-dae shake hands after signing a memorandum of understanding to build a city airport terminal there, during the signing ceremony at Gwangmyeong Cave, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday.

All this means that they will no longer have to bear tedious hours in a car to go to the airport. Instead, they will be able to take fast and convenient bullet trains to reach Gwangmyeong Station, drop their luggage and hop on the limousine bus to the airport. This new route is expected to save much time.

For example, a traveler who sets off from Busan is expected to reach the airport in three hours and 20 minutes through the new route, whereas it takes more than four hours through the fastest route available now, according to the IIAC. From Gwangju, it is expected to take only two hours and 20 minutes.

Those who already completed check-in can get on the plane after simple passport checks at the airport.

“The terminal is also expected to improve convenience for foreigners who travel outside the capital area,” an IIAC PR official said.

The IIAC plans to allocate about 2.5 billion won ($2.2 million) to setting up and operating the Gwangmyeong terminal next year. It will be the nation’s third city airport terminal after the ones in Seoul Station and Samseong-dong.

The bidding process to win the contract for the operations of the terminal has been notified. The IIAC said it will announce the winner by the end of the year after evaluations.

Incheon airport has been rated the world’s best airport by the Airports Council International every year since 2005, four years after its opening in 2001. It now services nearly 50 million passengers each year.