Incheon International Airport

The Republic of Korea is a country located in Northeast Asia, a divided country, and a
country that has grown through exports. This tragic history is attributed to the development of air traffic in the Republic of Korea ironically. The Republic of Korea cannot export to the continent through Land transportation. Therefore, ships or aircraft must be used for export. According to the International Air Transport Association (2019), “The Republic of Korea's air transportation industry accounts for 3.5% of Korea's GDP. Also, air transport supports almost 840,000 jobs. clearly, none of these are insignificant contributions. In addition, the Republic of Korea's air transport market is expected to grow 89% over the next 20 years. As a result, the number of air travelers will increase by 58.2 million by 2037, and in that case, the increased demand for air transport will be about $90 billion. It will support GDP and about 981,400 jobs.” Of course, the Republic of Korea's air transportation is currently in a slump because of the pandemic situation, but Its air transportation industry is expected to be promising as air transportation accounts for a significant portion of Korea's exports. Section One: History of Incheon International AirportIncheon International Airport is an airport that contributes greatly to Korea's air transportation industry. According to the Korea Herald (2021), “It is responsible for 3/4 of the total number of immigrants and 1/4 of the total import and export amount and serves as a gateway to Korea and a front-line base for exports.” Incheon Airport is an international airport in the Republic of Korea located in Incheon Metropolitan City. It is also called Seoul-Incheon International Airport (Seoul Incheon International Airport). On March 29, 2001, the port was opened after inheriting the international function of Gimpo International Airport. Most international airliners entering the Republic of Korea come to this airport. It is the largest airport in the Republic of Korea built by reclaiming the island off the coast of Incheon, and boasts an incomparable level compared to other airports in the Republic of Korea, both in terms of route and number of passengers. In addition, it is competing for the top Three to Five places every year in the world's TOP 100 international airports rankings evaluated by Skytrax, an aviation industry evaluation company. In addition, the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) organized by the Airports Council International (ACI) has excellent facilities, which has been selected as the world's best quality service for 12 consecutive years. Starting with the construction of the boarding building in 2008, airport facilities are being expanded, and the second passenger terminal was opened in 2018. Since then, four stages of projects have been underway, including the expansion of the second passenger terminal and the establishment of a fourth runway. After completing the final expansion project in the fifth stage, it will be equipped with Terminal three and Runway five, making it a huge airport worldwide. Almost all Korean national airlines use this place as a hub airport for business. In addition, Delta Airlines used it as a hub among foreign airlines. Including cargo airlines, a total of three foreign airlines, FedEx and Polar Air Cargo, have designated hub airports. Incheon International Airport is a world emergency cargo airport that maintains second and third place in the world's air cargo handling rankings.

Ownership

In the early 2000s, the airport barely saw a deficit, and there was public opinion to push for privatization. Proponents of privatization argued that it needs enormous capital to establish its position as an East Asian hub airport and that the state cannot afford all of it, so it should push for privatization, an advanced capital attraction corporation. When Incheon International Airport's performance was hard to guarantee, projects with huge capital, such as the construction of Terminal 2 and the expansion of additional runways, could have been a realistic option if Incheon International Airport's performance had not improved. However, the initial cost is high to build a large infrastructure such as an airport, so management improves over time. The initial investment cost of the airport is considerable, but over time, the management cost is lower, the performance of Incheon International Airport Corporation has improved rapidly, and privatization has been neutralized (Kim, 2011).

Staff and Safety Management System

Incheon International Airport has an effective safety management system. The chief executive officer of the navigation safety facility-related organization is actively participating, and the chief executive officer's awareness and participation in safety are notified to all workers to raise awareness of the safety of the members. Through this, all workers are encouraged to participate and maintain and improve a safe culture. The responsibilities and roles of the Chief Executive Officer are documented and specified and posted to facilitate access for all workers. The chief executive officer of the organization related to navigation safety facilities clarifies the direction and will of safety management targeted by the organization. To achieve the safety and
achievement of the organization, appropriate safety goals and safety management policies are set, and strategies are being established to achieve the safety achievements pursued by the organization through the establishment of safety goals and safety management policies. All workers' participation and responsibility for safety are defined, and safety goals and safety management policies are documented (IIAC, 2014). An appropriate organization is formed in consideration of the size and operating environment of the organization related to navigation safety facilities. In the event of an incident or accident, rapid and efficient control and corrective measures can be implemented through reporting safety-related issues. It is a system in which a safety manager responsible for safety-related issues is designated, and a safety committee is formed to allow all workers to take responsibility for safety. Incheon International Airport's SMS
program collects and records data on safety-related issues through a quick and transparent safety reporting system, delivers them to the chief executive officer to implement effective and efficient
corrective measures, and provides safety information to all workers. Reporting on safety-related issues is conducted regularly so that all workers can participate, and formal and informal reporting systems are properly established to quickly and transparently communicate safety-related issues to the Chief Executive Officer. Secrets about reporters are guaranteed, and the principle of non-punishment is observed. Workers and department heads related to navigation
safety facilities establish and implement safety evaluation procedures over the entire life cycle of the facility for safety management of navigation safety facilities. Identify hazards related to navigation safety facilities, analyze and evaluate the risks resulting therefrom, and take corrective measures to mitigate the risk level to an acceptable level. Risk analysis considers the frequency and severity of occurrence of risk factors and evaluates the risk through this. Incheon International Airport is operated under the ICAO annex, not the FAA. As part of FAA part 139's airport self-inspection, Incheon International Airport is conducting its safety audit to continuously improve the safety management system (SMS). Incheon International Airport regularly conducts safety audits and conducts them irregularly as necessary. In addition, for a safety audit, the audit team conducts document reviews, interviews, and on-site due diligence. Safety audits are conducted internally and externally, and internal audits are conducted by the chief of the navigation safety facility-related organization to audit the SMS on its own, and external audits are conducted by the state or by the chief of the navigation safety facility-related organization (IIAC, 2021).

Finantial Status Incheon

International Airport is the first airport to be considered in the flight rights agreement with other countries, so most long-distance international direct ports are bound to go through Incheon International Airport. Therefore, Incheon International Airport's performance cannot deteriorate even if it wants to deteriorate at a time when Korea's demand for overseas travel is steadily increasing. It ranks first in domestic passenger and cargo transportation and is also an airport that ranks in terms of the number of international passengers and cargo transportation in Asia and the world (Lee & Lee, 2018). Korean Air, which has Incheon International Airport as its hub, has maintained its No. 1 ranking every year since 2004 in the world air cargo rankings, but in 2010, Cathay Pacific Airlines of Hong Kong Base reversed (Sky Team, n.d.). Unlike Europe, Asia is wide, making it difficult for one airport to cover all of Asia. Hong Kong International Airport is also too skewed to cover East Asia. However, Hong Kong, Incheon, and Narita are still ahead of other Asian airports. This is because the number of freight carriers is quite high, and the number of passengers at Incheon International Airport has been ahead of Narita since 2013 (Lee et al., 2017, p.238). How many routes are operated at the airport is soon linked to the airport's performance. There must be a lot of air demand in the area around the airport to increase the number of ports, but if the airport's competitiveness and flight capacity do not support it, the airport will have only limited destinations and routes. In addition, the presence of good airports also plays a role in amplifying air demand itself. If the surrounding air demand is a necessary condition for the airport to have a large number of destinations, the competitiveness of the airport can be said to be a sufficient condition. It seems natural that Incheon Airport's performance is good at first glance as half of the world's 11th-largest Gross Domestic Product is in the metropolitan area and almost international flights are in Incheon, but Incheon Airport itself has high competitiveness and service levels, drawing more air demand and many airlines (Business Standard, 2021). However, as the coronavirus infection-19 that occurred in December 2019 spread rapidly around the world, the situation in the airline industry worsened and the number of airport passengers decreased accordingly, eventually, on April 7, 2021, Incheon International Airport Corporation began emergency operation. When entering the emergency operating system, the number of incoming and outgoing stations, which used to operate six locations, was reduced to two, the number of available aprons was reduced by half, and commercial facilities in the airport were shortened to reduce operating losses when there were no flights (CAPA, 2020).

Budget before and after COVID-19

In 2019, before the COVID-19 situation, according to Jin (2021), “Incheon International Airport recorded $774.48 million in aviation revenue and $1.53 billion in non-airline revenue, and a total of $2.3 billion in sales. In 2019, Incheon International Airport posted a net profit of $1.07 billion, with a debt ratio of 31.1%. Unfortunately, after the COVID-19 situation, Incheon International Airport Corporation's sales profit plunged to $1 billion in 2020 and $370 million in 2021. This figure decreased by 60.2% in 2020 compared to 2019 and 84% in 2021 compared to 2019. In particular, the serious sector is operating profits. Operating profit plunged to -400 million dollars in 2020 and then fell to -870 million dollars in 2021. The figure fell 128.8% in 2020 compared to 2019, and 181% in 2021 compared to 2019. Due to such worsening financial conditions, Incheon International Airport's debt ratio is also expected to soar from 31.1% in 2019 to 46.5% in 2020 and 73.4% in 2021, and to 118.9% in 2023.” The worsening financial status of Incheon International Airport is mainly attributable to the worsening business environment caused by COVID-19, but the reduction of rent in the airline industry, which is in crisis, is also believed to have affected it. The problem is that there are more factors in fiscal expenditure in the future. Incheon International Airport is scattered with financial burdens, including $4 billion in four-stage projects, including the expansion of the second passenger terminal, and a total of $5.3 billion in large-scale investment plans from 2021 to 2025, which is feared to worsen unless special measures are taken (Ji & Cho, 2019).

Airside Operations of Incheon Airport

According to IIAC (n.d.), as of 2022, a total of four runways are fully equipped. All four
runways are CAT-IIIb grade, so they can land at a municipal distance of 75m, and in particular, they were certified CAT-IIIb for the first time as an international airport in Asia in 2003. From June 2021 to November 2023, only three runways can be operated until 2024 due to repackaging work. Except for the third runway, the length and width of the remaining three-runway are 3750m×60m, and the length and width of the third runway are 4000m×60m. The fifth runway will be built along with a terminal dedicated to low-cost airlines. The runway size is 3750m × 60m, which is scheduled for CAT-IIIb and lLS. It will be the last terminal and runway. A total of 186 airplanes can be parked on the apron. ATC is divided into approach, delivery, departure, ground, and apron control. There are two VORs, NCN (Incheon) VORs in the north and WNG (Wangsan) VORs in the south. In addition, Incheon International Airport Corporation operates a real-time aircraft noise measurement network to accurately analyze the noise effects generated by airport operations (IIAC, n.d.). Section Three: Terminal Operations of Incheon Airport
Passenger Terminal one is a terminal operating with the port opening in March 2001, with a total of 44 entrances from one to 50, 270 check-in counters, 120 passport checkpoints, 28 security checkpoints, and 6,400 departure passengers per hour. And on the right is the domestic office building where internal flights operate. With the opening of the boarding building on June 20, 2008, foreign airlines moved, and Korean national airlines such as Asiana Airlines are using the boarding gate (Seoul Incheon Airport, n.d.). In January 2018, the boarding check-in counter was adjusted and rearranged due to the opening of the second passenger terminal, and representatively, Korean Air moved to Incheon International Airport's second passenger terminal. Passenger Terminals two was built on a scale of 350,000 m² dimension about 2.4 km north of Terminal one according to Incheon International Airport's three-step plan. Construction began on September 26, 2013, was completed on September 30, 2017, and opened on January 18, 2018. There is a total of 40 boarding gates from 230 to 270, 204 check-in counters, 62 self-check-in devices, 34 self-backdrops, 52 automatic immigration checkpoints, 20 passport checkpoints, 24 security checkpoints, and about 5,000 departure passengers per hour (Hyundai, 2017). At the beginning of the opening, Korean Air, KLM, Air France, and Delta Airlines used it, and on October 28, 2018, seven more airlines, including Aeromexico, Alitalia, China Airlines, Garuda Indonesia Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Czech Airlines, and Aeroflot, were deployed. After that, the facility will be doubled to move all airlines participating in the Sky Team from Terminal one (Incheon Airport, n.d.).

Landside Operations of Incheon Airport

Incheon Airport's parking facilities are divided into a long-term parking lot and a short-term parking lot in Terminal one and Terminal two (Inchon Airport, n.d.). Incheon International Airport is connected by the Incheon International Airport Expressway and the second Gyeongin Expressway. Airport limousine buses and numerous private car visitors, which have been operating since the opening of Incheon International Airport, are visiting this road. However, as both are highways, passengers can enter Incheon International Airport only by car (Incheon Airport, n.d.). There are Incheon International Airport Railroad and Incheon International Airport magnetic levitation railway, and the operating system of Incheon International Airport Railroad includes direct trains and general trains. Direct trains run 51 minutes between Incheon International Airport Terminal two and Seoul Station and 43 minutes between Incheon International Airport Terminal one and Seoul Station without stopping in-between stops. The general train stops at all stations and runs between Incheon Airport Terminal one and Seoul Station in 58 minutes and between Incheon Airport Terminal two and Seoul Station in 66 minutes (Incheon Airport, n.d.).

Roles of Incheon Airport

Incheon International Airport is not an airport under the FAA, but by the standard of the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS), it is a primary airport and a large hub airport. The organizational structure of Incheon Airport consists of five divisions. management, operation, infrastructure, future business, and safety and security divisions are led by five leaders of the division. In addition, ESG Group, integrated airport operation center, and airport industrial technology research institute are under the vice president. The CEO, the head of the headquarters, and airport directors form a board of directors. Incheon International Airport is a public owned airport owned by Incheon International Airport Corporation. It is not only a hub airport in Korea but also the best hub airport in Northeast Asia, serving as an intermediate bridge for a large number of passengers. Despite the COVID-19 situation, the Incheon International Airport Corporation continues to create jobs and grow together to restore the airport ecosystem and community as a whole, leading the public role. In order to overcome the airport ecosystem and the local economy early, it minimized airport job loss by promoting rent reduction and Incheon Airport-type job support pilot projects and is the first public company to supply Incheon Airport and Value local currency and supply management stabilization funds to small businesses. Furthermore, the corporation plans to expand jobs in the aviation industry by continuing efforts to create innovative jobs, such as expanding airport infrastructure and fostering startups, with the aim of creating 80,000 jobs by 2025. The corporation is also investing in supporting social and economic organizations and solidifying its social and economic support model of Incheon Airport and Value Added. It supports the growth of the organization with the aim of fostering 200 social and economic organizations by this year. In particular, it supports the expansion of domestic and foreign markets for social enterprises in the eco-friendly field, while opening pop-up stores at Incheon International Airport to provide opportunities to introduce social enterprise production and manufacturing products to the world.

Fourth Runway Project

Incheon International Airport is a huge international airport that can operate 24 hours a day because there are no regulations or limitations related to the surrounding area thanks to the complete preparation of construction sites as airport-only sites in advance. Expansion due to future demand growth is also proceeding without problems as planned. There are quite a few cases where the airport is not properly expanded due to conflicts with nearby residents. However,
Incheon International Airport plans to solve demand growth and improve operating procedures through the expansion and development of runway, taxiway, and parking aprons. Incheon International Airport began operating its fourth runway on June 17, 2021. The fourth runway was built with a length of 3,750m and a width of 60m. In addition to the main runway, it is equipped with parallel taxiways, high-speed escape guides, and navigation safety facilities. A parallel taxiway is a road made parallel to the runway by a landing aircraft to the mooring area. The Rapid exit taxiway is a road that minimizes runway occupancy time by helping landing aircraft escape faster to other taxiways. There is a high-speed escape guideway to quickly move the landed aircraft to a parallel guideway. There were four high-speed escape guideways on the existing runway, but a total of eight high-speed escape guideways were installed in addition to four on the fourth runway. It is said that no matter where you land, you can get out quickly, reducing the runway occupancy time by 20 seconds. From the point of view of passengers, they can get off the plane quickly, and the time the aircraft enters the main station and the rotation
rate of the aircraft increases (IIAC, n.d.). Moreover, the fourth runway was paved with a 24m roller to minimize this joint. Smooth roads have become possible without bumpy roads. Vibration can be minimized when taking off and landing, and stable driving is possible when moving the aircraft. Also, the runway thickness is 90cm (CAPA, 2020). Furthermore, With the advent of the fourth runway, the flight procedure at Incheon International Airport has changed.
Just as the fourth runway was created to meet the increasing demand for aviation, the flight procedure was changed to meet the demand for aviation. Airplanes approaching the airport generally approach the airport and enter the runway under the instructions of the controller.
However, Incheon International Airport operated a point merge flight procedure to allow more aircraft to enter. In this way, a plane comes to Incheon International Airport and turns the plane once in a fan shape. The plane that was coming to the airport will be around once. This is to reduce the number of flights so that they can come. However, after the operation of the fourth runway, Incheon International Airport changed its flight procedure from the Point Merge method to the Trombone method. At first glance, this method seems to be more complicated, but it improves control efficiency at Incheon International Airport and reduces aircraft bottlenecks, reducing average flight time and average fuel consumption by 10-15% compared to the point merge method (ICAO, 2012).

Conclusion

Overall, when reviewing Incheon International Airport, Incheon International Airport is well equipped with safety, infrastructure, and operating procedures. With the advent of the fourth runway, traffic volume can accommodated more safely, and operation procedures have been simplified to accommodate more traffic. Incheon International Airport has a four-step expansion plan, so it is expected to develop navigation facilities such as parking aprons and taxiways. It will operate Incheon International Airport more safely and efficiently. However, Incheon
International Airport also could not avoid a slump in the finances of the world airport due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Therefore, as the fourth-phase expansion project is a national project, the government needs to partially support the national treasury and reduce dividends paid to the government for a certain period of time to recover its worsening financial condition early even if Incheon International Airport overcomes COVID-19.

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