Gimpo International Airport

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Gimpo International Airport 김포국제공항 金浦國際空港 Gimpo Gukje Gonghang Kimp'o Kukche Konghang
IATA: GMP – ICAO: RKSS
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Korea Airports Corporation
Location		Seoul National Capital Area
Elevation AMSL		58 ft / 18 m
Coordinates		37°33′29″N 126°47′26″E / 37.55806°N 126.79056°E / 37.55806; 126.79056
Website		gimpo.airport.co.kr
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
14R/32L	10,499	3,200	Asphalt
14L/32R	11,811	3,600	Concrete
Statistics (2007)
Aircraft movements			100,124
Passengers			13,811,004
Tonnes of cargo			248,736
Statistics from KAC[1]

Gimpo International Airport (Korean: 김포국제공항), commonly known as Gimpo Airport (IATA: GMP, ICAO: RKSS) (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 after Incheon International Airport.^{[citation needed]}

Airlines and destinations

Gimpo International Airport primarily serves domestic and some limited international flights.

Domestic passenger flights

China/Japan "city-to-city" flights

History

International Terminal, Gimpo Airport - Departure

Domestic Terminal, Gimpo Airport - Departure

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. In July, Seoul Subway Line 9 opened linking the airport to the Gangnam area.

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. Services to Kansai International Airport In Osaka, Japan started on October 26, 2008.

Disasters involving Gimpo

International Terminal, Gimpo Airport - Departure

• 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 1980, a Korean Air Lines 747 landed short of the runway, ripping off all main landing gear, causing the aircraft to skid to a stop on the nose wheel and outer 2 engines starting a fire. 15 of the 226 total occupants were killed, this included the First Officer and Captain, who refused to leave the aircraft after the crash.
• In 1983, Korean Air Lines Flight 007, flying from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, New York via 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

• List of Korea-related topics
• Transportation in South Korea
• Incheon International Airport
• AREX - Airport Railroad

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gimpo International Airport

• Gimpo Airport
• Airport information for RKSS at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.

References