Gimpo International Airport[a] (IATA: GMP, ICAO: RKSS) (sometimes referred to as Seoul–Gimpo International Airport), formerly rendered in English as Kimpo International Airport, is located in the far western end of Seoul, some 15 km (9 mi) west of the Central District of Seoul. Gimpo was the main international airport for Seoul and South Korea before being replaced by Incheon International Airport in 2001. It now functions as Seoul's secondary airport. In 2015, over 23 million passengers used the airport, making it the third-largest airport in Korea, as it has been surpassed by Jeju International Airport.
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.
The airfield was built in 1939 during the Japanese Imperial period as an Imperial Army base. The runways were built on a bed of rocks manually hauled by Korean laborers from Kaihwasan and Yangchan, several miles from the base.[4] Then known as Keijo New Airfield (京城新飛行場), Kimpo was constructed with four runways to supplement the much smaller Keijo Airfield (京城飛行場), which was later known as Yeouido Airport.[5]
Korean War
Gimpo played a major role during the Korean War, and the USAF designated the airfield as Kimpo Air Base or K-14.[6]
Gimpo was captured by the KPA shortly after the capture of Seoul on 28 June 1950. On 29 June, eight B-29s of the 19th Bomb Group bombed Gimpo and the Seoul railyards.[7] By July, the KPAF were using the base for attacks on UN forces; on 10 July, seven Yak-7s were hidden at Gimpo and used in strikes against UN positions at Cheongju. The next day, they surprised and damaged several Lockheed F-80s in the area. On 15 July, the US launched an attack on Gimpo, destroying two or three of the seven Yak-7s there and damaging the runway.[9] On 5 August 5th Air Force fighters strafed and bombed Gimpo, destroying 9 aircraft and damaging 9 others.[9]: 102
Following the Inchon landings on 15 September 1950, the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines was ordered to seize Gimpo on 17 September.[10] Gimpo was defended by a conglomeration of half-trained fighting men and service forces, and by the morning of 18 September, the Marines had secured the airfield. The airfield was in excellent shape as the North Koreans had not had time to do any major demolition.[10]: 61 On 19 September, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers repaired the local railroad up to 8 miles (13 km) inland and 32 C-54 transport planes began flying in gasoline and ordnance. VMF-212 was one of the first units to operate from Gimpo before moving forward to Yonpo Airfield. On 25 September, the 811th Engineer Aviation Battalion began repairing bomb damage on the 6,000-foot (1,800 m) asphalt runway at Gimpo and covering it with Marston matting.[9]: 178–9 On 6 October, the USAF took control of Gimpo from the USMC.[7]
Following the Chinese Third Phase Campaign and the defeat of UN Forces at the 38th parallel, on 5 January 1951, General Ridgway ordered the evacuation of Seoul and the withdrawal of UN forces to a new defensive line along the 37th parallel. Units based at Gimpo were withdrawn to the south and facilities were destroyed to prevent their use by Chinese and North Korean forces.
UN forces resumed the offensive again in late January 1951 and launched Operation Thunderbolt on 25 January, with the aim of pushing Chinese and North Korean forces back north of the Han River. By 10 February 1951, UN forces once again had control of Gimpo.[9]: 293
USAF units based at Gimpo (Kimpo) included:
4th Fighter Wing operating F-86s from 23 August 1951 to 1 October 1954, subordinate units included:
Map, c. 2014International terminalTerminal interior
In 1958, the airport was redesignated as the Gimpo international airport of Seoul by a presidential decree, completely replacing the existing Yeouido Airport.[11]
Following the construction of Gimpo, Yeouido Airport was demolished. Gimpo soon became the main airport of Seoul, and of South Korea in general. In 1971, a new, combined domestic and international terminal was opened. However, following the opening of what was known as Terminal 1 in 1977, the original combined terminal was converted to domestic flights only. Later, Terminal 2 was opened due to the 1988 Summer Olympics.
Gradually, Gimpo began to have more flights than it was capable of handling. After about 1980, it experienced numerous problems due to its lack of space for expansion. An additional problem was South Korea's overnight curfew (midnight to 4 am), a security measure that was in effect for decades. The curfew, which severely limited the airport's night operations, was finally abolished in 1982.
Eventually, the South Korean government decided to build a new airport. The facility was initially planned to be in Cheongju, 124 km (77 mi) away from Seoul, but that idea was strongly opposed by the citizens of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, due to the inconvenience it would pose to them. (It would have been farther from Seoul than the 80 km (50 mi) distance between Viracopos Airport in Campinas, Brazil, and the city of São Paulo.) Finally, Yeongjong Island, a part of the city of Incheon, slightly west of Seoul, was chosen for the new airport, which later came to be known as Incheon International Airport. All bigger scale international flights were moved to Incheon when it opened in 2001.[12]
Post-Incheon-activation era
"Shuttle" flights to Haneda Airport in Tokyo started in November 2003 on a charter basis, cutting 30 minutes or more of ground transportation at each end in an attempt to attract business travelers.[13] This "city to city" route was followed by new routes to Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai starting in October 2007,[14]Kansai Airport in Osaka starting in 2008,[12]Beijing starting in July 2011,[15] and Songshan Airport in Taipei starting in April 2012.[16] Total international passenger numbers at Gimpo rose from under one million in 2005 to over four million by 2012.[12] Most services to Osaka and Beijing also operate from Incheon Airport.
The Haneda-Gimpo route was suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed in June 2022 with eight weekly roundtrips, and recovered to 84 weekly roundtrips by the end of 2022 as entry restrictions were lifted.[17][18] On 26 March 2023, the Haneda-Incheon services resumed with two daily roundtrips a week with Korean Air and Peach with Asiana Airlines resuming the route on 1 May 2023 with 7 daily roundtrips a week.[19][20]
Korea Airports announced an expansion and remodeling of the terminals in 2013, adding new gates and security checkpoints.[21] In 2017, the South Korean government announced that a new terminal would be built to meet growing domestic traffic.[22]
Gimpo currently has two runways (3600 × 45 m and 3200 × 60 m), two passenger terminals, and one cargo terminal.[needs update]
On 23 March 2007 the AREX airport express line started operations to Incheon International Airport, with an extension to Seoul Station which opened in December 2010. Seoul Subway Line 9 also links the airport to the Gangnam area. 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 Airport. In 2019, the Gimpo Goldline began service to the airport. On 1 July 2023, the Seohae Line began service to the airport.
On 22 February 1957, a USAFDouglas C-124 Globemaster II crashed near SEL after takeoff because of a prop/turbine blade separation, resulting in a forced landing in the Han River. Out of a total of 159 passengers and crew on board, 21 were killed.[42]
On 19 November 1980, Korean Air Lines Flight 015, a Boeing 747-200 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, including the First Officer and Captain.[43]
On 14 September 1986, a bomb blast occurred outside a terminal building, killing five people and wounding 36. The attack was blamed on North Korea as an attempt to disrupt the 1986 Asian Games starting 6 days later.[44]
On 5 August 1998, Korean Air Flight 8702, a Boeing 747-400 rolled off the runway upon touchdown and slid into a ditch, resulting in the destruction of the aircraft's undercarriage and the fuselage being split. All 395 of the total occupants survived and the aircraft was written off.[46]
^"Valor Awards for James Walter Little". Gannett Company. 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2013.(From the Lavochkin LA-71 page 'Despite reports to the contrary, no La-7s were ever sold or transferred to the People's Republic of China or North Korea. Such reports arose from misidentification by Western pilots of the La-9s or La-11s that were given to those countries.[15])
^"Office Location." (Archive) Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board. Retrieved on 15 February 2012. "CVR/FDR analysis and wreckage laboratory : Gimpo International Airport 274 Gwahae-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Korea 157–711"
^"KAIB/AAR F0201." Korea Aviation Accident Investigation Board. 4/168. Retrieved on 18 June 2009. "The main office is located near Gimpo International Airport, and the flight recorder analysis and wreckage laboratories are located inside the airport."
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