Construction of the international airport in Incheon.

Before the construction of Incheon Airport, Gimpo Airport was Seoul's only air gateway . This airport still exists and is growing in passenger traffic, but it serves only domestic flights. For example, if you're traveling to South Korea on a tourist trip that begins with a visit to Jeju Island, you'll likely land at Incheon International Airport and be transferred to Gimpo Airport, from where a flight will take you to Jeju Island. The connections between the airports are excellent. In addition to buses, a train has been operating since March 2007, covering the 40 kilometers between the old and new airports in about half an hour. Trains run frequently, with intervals of just 12 minutes. Construction of the first phase of the new Incheon Airport took eight years and cost $5,5 billion. The airport is built on an artificial, reclaimed island, on the site of a former tidal zone between two islands in the Yellow Sea. The airport received its first aircraft (South Korean airline Asiana, flying from Bangkok) early in the morning of March 29, 2001. Accordingly, the last international flight from overcrowded Gimpo was an Uzbekistan Airways plane, departing on March 28, 2001, for Tashkent.

Incheon Airport is the best in the world.

This airport has not only been recognized as the best, but has held this title for four consecutive years: from 2006 to 2009. The conclusions are based on a highly representative sample. For example, in 2009, 8,6 million air passengers from around the world participated in a sociological survey conducted by the consulting company Skytrax. Passengers were asked to rate the quality of 39 services and products provided by airports, such as check-in procedures, arrivals services, staff courtesy, and so on. To be fair, it should be noted that the difference between the top three airports (with over 190 items on the list) was minimal. So minimal that some even proposed placing all three at the top. However, the decision was ultimately made not to smooth out the resulting differences, and Incheon Airport was clearly declared the 2009 winner. Hong Kong International Airport took second place, and Singapore's Changi Airport came in third. It's striking that all three leaders are located in Asia, and, globally, within relatively close proximity to each other. Naturally, being awarded first place always generates positive feedback, as, given a choice, Incheon's top spot is a compelling argument for passengers, leading to additional passenger traffic growth.

Construction of Incheon Airport continues.

In 2001, only the first phase of the airport opened. By the summer of 2008, the passenger terminal had expanded, opening a new concourse with 30 boarding gates. The new terminal is used by international airlines, while South Korea's two main airlines, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, continue to use the old one. It is located 900 meters from the main terminal and can be reached by mini-metro after checking in at the main concourse. According to the plan, which is being successfully implemented, by 2020, Incheon Airport will be able to handle up to 100 million passengers and 7 million tons of cargo annually. For comparison, when it opened in 2001, the airport could handle approximately 30 million passengers (up to 240 flights) and 2,7 million tons of cargo per year. After the opening of the second terminal in 2008, these figures increased to 44 million passengers and 410 flights, respectively. In 2008, the airport's third, extended runway was also opened. At 4 kilometers long (250 meters longer than the other two runways), it can accommodate the world's largest aircraft, including the triple-deck Airbus A380. This makes Incheon Airport one of only 20 airports worldwide capable of handling and dispatching these superjumbo jets. Another runway and passenger terminal will be built by 2020.

Other international airports in Korea.

In conclusion, it should be noted that there are six international airports in the Republic of Korea: Incheon, Gimhae, Daegu, Cheongju, Yangyang and Jeju , but flights to all parts of the world are carried out only from the airport in Incheon, and all the others serve only Asian destinations.