Incheon airport ranks 3rd in int'l passenger traffic last year

April 20, 2025

South Korea's Incheon International Airport ranked third in international passenger traffic last year, its highest ranking since opening in 2001, the airport's operator said Sunday.

The country's main airport, located about 45 kilometers west of Seoul in Incheon, previously ranked seventh in 2023 and fifth in both 2018 and 2019, the Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) said in a press release.

In 2024, a total of 70.67 million passengers used international routes via Incheon Airport, up 26.7 percent from the previous year, the release said, citing data from Airports Council International (ACI).

​

Korean Air signs $32.7b deal with Boeing, GE to upgrade fleet

March 24, 2025

Korean Air has committed $32.7 billion to global aircraft manufacturer Boeing and leading engine maker GE Aerospace to keep its fleet modernization strategy on track, ensuring timely aircraft deliveries amid ongoing supply chain disruptions. The total package includes $24.9 billion for Boeing aircraft and $7.8 billion for GE engines and maintenance, bringing the overall value to $32.7 billion. The airline announced Sunday that its Chairman and CEO Walter Cho, Boeing President and CEO Kelly Ortberg, and GE Aerospace President and CEO of Commercial Engines and Services Russell Stokes met in Washington, DC, on Friday to finalize the deal and discuss ways to strengthen collaboration.

 

Korean airlines' fleet tops 400, setting record high
February 8, 2025
The number of planes owned and operated by airlines in the Republic of Korea surpassed 400 last year, data showed, marking the highest figure since record-keeping began, Yonhap News Agency reported. Domestic airlines operated a total of 416 airplanes, including 42 cargo planes, as of late last year, up 23 from a year before, according to the data submitted to Rep. Lee Yeon-hee of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP). This marks the highest number of planes since a private airplane was first registered in the country in 1977.

​

Korea's air passenger traffic surges nearly 20% in 2024 on overseas travel

Jan 12, 2025

Korea's air passenger traffic jumped sharply from a year earlier in 2024, nearly reaching the pre-pandemic level on increased overseas travel, data showed Sunday. The number of airline passengers at Korean airports came to more than 120 million, up 19.5 percent from about 100.5 million tallied in 2023, according to the data from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. The number represents 97.3 percent of the record 123.36 million posted in 2019. The number had dipped to 29.5 percent of the record figure in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, before recovering to 81.5 percent of the 2019 tally in 2023.

​

T'way Air to build Korea's first maintenance facility for LCCs

January 6, 2025

T'way Air said Monday it will build the country's first low-cost carrier (LCC)-dedicated aircraft maintenance facility at Incheon International Airport by 2028. The 150 billion-won (US$102.1 million) facility will be built inside a high-tech aviation complex inside the airport, the main gateway to Korea, in Incheon, west of Seoul, according to the airline.

The facility will house a 15,000 square-meter (about 160,000 square-feet) two-bay hangar, along with a 20,000-square-meter workspace. It will have the capacity to simultaneously service one E-class aircraft and four medium-sized C-class aircraft. Construction is slated to commence in the first half of 2025.

​

Korean Air to Build Asia’s Largest Airplane Maintenance Center in Yeongjong Island
2024.03.15

Korean Air will build an engine maintenance cluster in the Unbuk district of Yeongjong Island, Incheon, to expand its aircraft engine maintenance capacity and expand its aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business.

The new engine maintenance center will be located next to Korean Air’s Engine Test Center (ETC), which has been in operation since 2016. It is a two-basement, five-story building with a gross floor area of 142,211.73 square meters.The center will cost a total of 578 billion won. Korean Air wants to complete it by the end of 2027. When it opens, it will be the largest aviation maintenance center in Asia. The number of engines that can be serviced will increase from 100 to 360 per year, and the variety of aircraft engines that can be serviced will be expanded.

​

​

​

​

​

​