Politicians offer to build new regional airports while existing ones lose money

Check-in counters at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, one of Korea's loss-making airports, is empty during the daytime in this July 2023 photo. Korea Times file

The nation's regional airports are expected to become a major election issue once again, with politicians attempting to drum up support ahead of the April 10 general elections by proposing new locations for air travel hubs outside the capital in order to stimulate regional economies.

But critics find the pledges to be worrisome, as most airports across the country have been suffering from chronic losses due to a lack of travelers after they were built recklessly in the name of balanced economic development.

“I wonder whether the political parties are serious about wooing voters with airport-related promises after learning the airports are far from profitable, but financially burdensome for local governments,” said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University.

He was referring to pledges for the construction of at least nine new airports.

The sites for the nine airports are in Gyeonggi Province, Busan’s Gadeok Island, Jeju Island, North Jeolla Province’s Saemangeum land reclamation site, North Gyeongsang Province, Ulleung Island, South Jeolla Province’s Heuksan Island, Incheon’s Baengnyeong Island and South Chungcheong Province.

For example, Lee Kyung-yong, who is preparing for a parliamentary bid with the ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Jeju Island, said he would "immediately focus on the construction of a new airport there if elected."

Potential nominees, such as Lee Jae-man of the PPP in Daegu and Park Kyun-taek of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea in Gwangju, have made similar promises to construct new airports in those regions as part of their election platforms.

Their promises came as Korea Airports Corp. reported that 11 of the 14 airports that it manages posted losses for the past five years.

The 11 include Yangyang International Airport in Gangwon Province and Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province.

The Gangwon provincial government has been spending more than 30 billion won ($22.44 million) annually to cover financial losses incurred by Yangyang airport due to the suspended operations of both domestic and international flights.

Muan airport's losses amounted to over 100 billion won over the past five years.

“Easy accessibility, sufficient means of transportation and travel demand are possibly most-prioritized prerequisites to build an airport, and unfortunately, none of the 11 failing airports satisfy these conditions,” an employee of one domestic airline said on condition of anonymity.

The worker also argued that plans to attract travelers from overseas as addressed in some pledges will “inevitably fail.”

“For instance, some inbound flights may arrive late at night due to time differences, but because the regional airports have difficulty in hiring air traffic controllers, passenger assistants and other employees, they may not be able to provide corresponding services,” he said.

Some low-cost carriers (LCCs) headquartered in the provinces have been considering relocating their main offices due to cost and other financial reasons. Such possible measures can add to the woes of the regional airports as the number of flights offered by budget carriers will decrease.