Jeju International Airport also known as Jeju Island Airport is the second-largest airport in South Korea, just behind Incheon International Airport in Incheon near Seoul. It serves as the home base for Jeju Air, and is located in Jeju City.

Operations Jeju International Airport, which opened in 1968, serves many mainland destinations in South Korea, as well as international destinations in mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. In 2015, 26,237,562 passengers used the airport. The airport is one endpoint of the world's busiest airline route, Jeju to/from Seoul-Gimpo. In 2023 over 13.7 million passengers traveled on that route.

Due to the airport operating far beyond its designed passenger capacity, it was announced in 2023 that Jeju's second airport would be constructed in Seongsan-eup, near the southern city of Seogwipo. This US$5.1 billion project has faced significant delays and controversies due to concerns the airport would negatively impact Jeju's groundwater sources, as well as protected species living in the area.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics Due to the popularity of Jeju as a holiday spot in South Korea, the air route from Jeju to Seoul is the busiest airline route in the world. In 2019, there were 85,000 flights from eight different airlines, meanwhile, 17 million seats were sold on flights between Gimpo and Jeju.

As Jeju has gained popularity as a resort destination, the number of international visitors from China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan has increased. In 1997, Jeju airport handled nine million passengers. In 2019, the airport passed the 30 million milestone despite being designed to handle a maximum of 26 million passengers. In 2020, the number of international visitors dropped due to COVID-19. However, the Seoul-Jeju route remained the busiest in the world and flight delays are still common.

In 2019, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport announced a US$4.18 billion construction plan that would begin in 2021 near Seogwipo City in southern Jeju. The airport would take 50% of the domestic flights to Jeju and would help to transfer flights during bad weather. The airport would accommodate 18.98 million passengers per year. However, in 2021 the Ministry of Environment cancelled the plans due to their failure to protect the local environment, including Jeju's extensive groundwater reserves, and protected species in the area, such as the narrow-mouthed frog. A new US$5.1 billion airport plan was provisionally approved in 2023 with no project completion date set.

Traffic by calendar year

+ Traffic by calendar year Passenger volume Change over previous year Aircraft operations Cargo tonnage19979,819,129 63,134 287,20419987,469,980 23.9% 50,979 275,89919998,242,134 10.3% 49,978 290,16820009,125,939 10.7% 55,675 320,63320019,320,337 2.1% 60,597 329,89520029,939,700 6.6% 68,681 337,750200310,802,989 8.7% 77,069 339,498200411,104,341 2.8% 76,075 327,325200511,354,925 2.3% 73,556 317,839200612,109,836 6.6% 78,611 315,129200712,296,426 1.5% 93,073 288,453200812,448,084 1.2% 95,671 225,479200913,643,366 9.6% 99,323 240,253201015,724,360 15.3% 103,426 231,287201117,201,878 9.4% 112,696 251,975201218,443,047 7.2% 120,699 244,647201320,055,238 8.7% 130,454 237,328201423,197,796 15.7% 145,533 275,429201526,237,562 13.1% 158,691 278,718201629,707,36413.2%172,742291,494201729,604,3630.35%167,280275,129201829,455,3050.5%168,331266,370201931,316,3946.3%175,366258,847202021,054,69632.8%138,256171,385202125,802,55022.6%160,230188,926202229,703,66215.1%169,624210,962202329,096,2712.0%167,086202,609 Source: Korea Airports Corporation Traffic Statistics

Domestic traffic by route + Domestic traffic by route (2024) Rank Airport Passengers Carriers 1 Seoul–Gimpo 15,278,561 Air Busan, Air Seoul, Asiana Airlines, Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air, T'way Air 2 Busan 3,514,193 Air Busan, Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air 3 Cheongju 3,110,536 Aero K, Asiana Airlines, Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air, T'way Air 4 Daegu 2,076,334 Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air, T'way Air 5 Gwangju 1,801,580 6 Yeosu 375,677 Asiana Airlines, Jin Air, Korean Air 7 Gunsan 325,560 Eastar Jet, Jin Air 8 Wonju 207,163 Jin Air 9 Pohang–Gyeongju 197,012 10 Ulsan 167,462 Jin Air, Korean Air

Busiest international routes + Busiest international routes from Jeju (2024) Rank Airport Passengers Carriers 1 Shanghai–Pudong 839,619 China Eastern Airlines, Jin Air, Juneyao Air, Spring Airlines 2 Taipei–Taoyuan 304,679 Eastar Jet, Tigerair Taiwan, T'way Air 3 Hangzhou 195,287 Beijing Capital Airlines, Loong Air, Spring Airlines 4 Beijing–Daxing 163,805 Jeju Air, Spring Airlines 5 Nanjing 145,875 Juneyao Air, Spring Airlines 6 Osaka–Kansai 127,779 T'way Air 7 Hong Kong 122,208 HK Express, Jeju Air 8 Beijing–Capital 117,554 Air China, Korean Air 9 Singapore 99,908 Scoot 10 Ningbo 83,896 Spring Airlines

Accidents and incidents 5 February 1982: A Republic of Korea Air Force Fairchild C-123 Provider crashed 2.3 miles N of Hallasan Volcano while on approach to land at Jeju in bad weather. All 53 occupants (six crew, 47 army troops) were killed. 10 August 1994: Korean Air Flight 2033, an Airbus A300-600R (registered as HL7296) overran the runway while attempting to land at Jeju International Airport. The plane was arriving from Seoul. All 160 persons on board survived. 28 July 2011: Asiana Airlines Flight 991, a Boeing 747-400F (registered as HL7604) experienced an in-flight fire and crashed while attempting to divert to Jeju. The plane was en route from Incheon to Shanghai. Both pilots were killed.

See also Alddreu Airfield List of the busiest airports in South Korea List of airports in South Korea List of airports by ICAO code – South Korea Transport in South Korea

References

External links Official website