The Harsh Reality of South Korea’s “Ghost Airports”

On May 25, the 2,500-meter runway at Yangyang Airport in Gangwon Province, northeastern South Korea, was empty without any aircraft. At the immigration checkpoint, which was used by 380,000 people last year, the lights were off and the doors were closed. At the check-in counter where the staff disappeared, there was an information board announcing the suspension of flights between Yangyang and Jeju. Fly Gangwon, which operated two round trips a day from Yangyang Airport to Jeju, suspended operations due to financial difficulties, and Yangyang Airport was once again suspended.

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On May 25, the 2,500-meter runway at Yangyang Airport in Gangwon Province, northeastern South Korea, was empty without any aircraft. At the immigration checkpoint, which was used by 380,000 people last year, the lights were off and the doors were closed. At the check-in counter where the staff disappeared, there was an information board announcing the suspension of flights between Yangyang and Jeju. Fly Gangwon, which operated two round trips a day from Yangyang Airport to Jeju, suspended operations due to financial difficulties, and Yangyang Airport was once again suspended.

Low-cost airline (LCC) Fly Gangwon entered the aviation industry in 2019 with a vow to aggressively attract Chinese tourists. However, due to Corona, international flights were stopped for 2 years and 3 months and received a direct hit. When the aircraft lease fee snowballed and the operating deficit exceeded 40 billion won (about 4.2 billion yen), the company filed a civil rehabilitation proceeding with the court on the 23rd of last month. The airline industry expects this disruption to continue for a long time. The possibility that Yangyang Airport will become a “ghost airport” again has increased.

For nine months from November 2008, Xiangyang Airport had no passengers. This is because Korean Air has suspended flights between Gimhae and Yangyang due to rising oil prices. Yangyang Airport loses more than 10 billion won every year. However, the international airport, which was built with 350 billion won of government funding, could not be closed immediately, and water continues to be poured into the bottomless jar. Sejong University business professor Hwang Yong-sik pointed out, “This is a side effect of `airport addiction,` which appears in every election. It is said that pledges to build “regional airports” aimed at regional votes during the general and presidential elections have appeared, and that they have fallen into “money-sucking worms” due to lack of demand.

Yangyang Airport was launched with the 1996 general elections under the local political logic that it was necessary to build an international airport to replace the small Gangneung and Sokcho airports. At the time, the analysis that “the demand for air travel in the Gangwon-Yeongdong area was just over 300,000 people a year, making it a business feasibility problem,” was ignored. Xiangyang Airport opened in April 2002. With a site of 2.48 million square meters, 43,000 domestic and international flights take off and land annually, and it has the capacity to handle more than 3 million passengers.

However, the result of ignoring economic efficiency was disastrous. The runway utilization remained at around 1% each year. About 2,900 domestic and international flights operated last year, a record high, but the utilization rate fell below 10%. However, facility maintenance costs are incurred annually. Accumulated losses over the last 10 years amounted to 110 billion won. Funds that should be used to improve facilities at airports with a large number of passengers are being wasted at bankrupt airports.

The situation is the same with Muan Airport in Jeollanam-do, which was promoted by the Kim Dae-jung administration. The port was opened in 2007 with an investment of 300 billion won from the national treasury, but the deficit is chronic. Muan Airport recorded a net loss of 20 billion won last year, and the loss over the last 10 years exceeded 130 billion won. The utilization rate of the 2,800-meter runway on the 2,740,000-square-meter site is the lowest in Japan at just 0.1%. A photo of peppers being dried on an empty runway was released, and it is also called the “pepper airport.”

There are more than 10 deficit regional airports, but the movement to build “new regional airports” has not abated. Seosan Airport, which was judged to lack business feasibility in the preliminary feasibility study, is also being promoted again.

Reporter Choi Sung-jin

Chosun Ilbo / Chosun Ilbo Japanese version

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