Gimpo International Airport (김포국제공항), commonly known as Gimpo Airport (formerly Kimpo International Airport), is located in the far western end of Seoul and was the main international airport for Seoul and South Korea before it was replaced by Incheon International Airport in 2001. It is now the second largest airport in Korea.
Airlines and destinations
Gimpo International Airport primarily serves domestic and some limited international flights.Domestic passenger flights
- Asiana Airlines (Busan, Gwangju, Jeju, Jinju, Muan, Pohang, Sacheon, Ulsan, Yeosu)
- Hansung Airlines (Jeju)
- Jeju Air (Jeju)
- Jin Air (Jeju)
- Korean Air (Busan, Gwangju, Jeju, Jinju, Pohang, Sacheon, Ulsan, Yeosu)
- Yeongnam Air (Busan, Jeju)
Flights to Daegu were moved to Incheon Airport.
International "city-to-city" flights
- All Nippon Airways (Tokyo-Haneda)
- Asiana Airlines (Shanghai-Hongqiao, Tokyo-Haneda)
- China Eastern Airlines (Shanghai-Hongqiao)
- Japan Airlines (Tokyo-Haneda)
- Korean Air (Shanghai-Hongqiao, Tokyo-Haneda)
- Shanghai Airlines (Shanghai-Hongqiao)
History
The airport originally started out as a runway built by Japanese forces in 1939-1942. It played a major role during the Korean War and in 1958 was designated as the international airport of the Korean capital city.
Since then it has grown into a much more significant airport that is capable of handling 226,000 flights a year. The airport had one domestic and two international terminals before its international function was replaced by Incheon International Airport. Gimpo currently has two runways (3600 m×45 m & 3200 m×60 m), two passenger terminals, and one cargo terminal.
The airport is located south of the Han River in western Seoul. (The name "Gimpo" comes from the nearby city of Gimpo, of which the airport used to be a part.)
For many years, the airport was served by the Gimpo Line, a railway line that no longer exists. In the 1990s, Seoul Subway Line 5 was extended to Gimpo. On March 23, 2007, the AREX airport express line started operations to Incheon International Airport, with the rest of the link to Seoul Station scheduled to open in 2010. Future plans include Seoul Subway Line 9 to Banpo.
Airlines that used to serve Gimpo but no longer serve Seoul are:
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On November 29, 2003, scheduled services between Gimpo and Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) in Tokyo, Japan began. Services to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport started on October 28, 2007.
Disasters involving Gimpo
- In 1978, Soviet missiles struck Korean Air Lines Flight 902, killing two passengers. The plane, bound for Gimpo from Paris, landed with no further deaths.
- In 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, flying from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, New York via Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, flew into Soviet air space. The Russians shot down the aircraft, killing all of the passengers and crew.
- In 1987, Korean Air Flight 858, which was flying from Baghdad International Airport in Baghdad, Iraq to Abu Dhabi International Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, to Kimpo was blown up midair by a bomb planted by North Korean agents. Everyone on board died after the plane exploded over the Andaman Sea.
- In 1997, Korean Air Flight 801, a Boeing 747 that had taken off from this airport, crashed on Nimitz Hill, Guam while on course to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, killing all but 26 of its passengers.
See also
External links
References
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Wednesday October 08, 2008 at 10:29:37 PDT (GMT -0700)
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