The lobby of Yangyang International Airport in Gangwon Province, is empty in this July 2023 photo. The airport is one of several regional airports in Korea struggling with deficits. Yonhap

The planned construction of additional regional airports in Korea is raising concerns, as many existing ones are currently operating at a loss, putting their management and passenger safety at risk.

Critics argue that the introduction of new airports is driven more by political motivations than actual market demand.

According to the government, eight new airport construction projects are in various stages in Busan, Daegu, Seosan in South Chungcheong Province and Saemangeum in North Jeolla Province, as well as on Jeju Island, Ulleung Island, Baengnyeong Island and Heuksan Island.

Gyeonggi Province, surrounding Seoul, is also considering the construction of two new regional airports — one in Pocheon and another in a location yet to be determined.

Many of the airport construction projects that have passed ministerial reviews have already entered the design phase, according to Joo Jong-wan, chief of the Civil Aviation Office under the transport ministry.

However, there are rising concerns that these airports will not generate enough demand to sustain their operations financially and ensure proper management.

Such worries stem from the current financial conditions of existing regional airports around the country.

Incheon International Airport reported the strongest profitability in 2023, with an operating profit of 532 billion won ($362 million). According to Korea Airports Corp. (KAC), which oversees 14 international and domestic airports other than Incheon, Jeju International Airport achieved a net profit of 611 billion won, while Gimpo International Airport earned 493 billion won.

The other airports were all operating at a net loss. Muan International Airport had the worst financial standing, with a net loss of 21.2 billion won. Yangyang International Airport marked a net loss of 18 billion won, Ulsan Airport 15.6 billion won, Yeosu Airport 15.2 billion won and Pohang-Gyeongju Airport 13.8 billion won.

The deficit-ridden operations are directly attributed to low demand. The Muan airport, for example, averaged only seven arrivals and departures per day last year. Its airstrip utilization rate was just 1.1 percent of its capacity during the same period. Chronic low demand has led to significant capital erosion.

Seven regional airports, including Muan, operated fewer than 10 flights per day in 2023.

From March to October 2023, Incheon International Airport handled an average of over 1,290 daily flights, while Ulsan Airport had only nine. Pohang-Gyeongju Airport and Gunsan Airport averaged six flights per day, Sacheon Airport had five, and Wonju Airport managed four. Yangyang International Airport averaged just 0.3 per day, with none in May and June. The airstrip utilization rates at these less frequented airports ranged from just 0.8 percent to 5.3 percent of their total capacities.

A Jeju Air plane which crash-landed at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province and killed 179 passengers on Dec. 29, 2024, is covered with a tarpaulin at the airport, Jan. 7. Yonhap

The Muan airport, struggling with financial difficulties, has only four employees responsible for preventing bird strikes. On the day of the Jeju Air disaster on Dec. 29, only one of these employees was on duty, while the Incheon airport employs 40 staffers for the same task.

Airports in Korea do not financially burden local governments. Classified as social overhead capital (SOC) infrastructure, they are the responsibility of central government bodies, including KAC. and the transport ministry. This has created a loophole, according to aviation industry experts, allowing local governments to push for new airports in their jurisdictions without considering their financial limitations.

This reality has led local governments to pursue regional airports more as a political initiative than out of genuine necessity. As a result, market demand estimates are often inaccurate. For instance, the Muan airport, which opened in 2007, was championed by a lawmaker who projected the airport would attract over 9.9 million passengers annually.

As a result, the airport was designed to handle 140,000 flights per year. However, in 2023, there were only 1,484 flights and 230,000 passengers. Similarly, the Yangyang airport, which was promised by former President Kim Young-sam before his election in 1993, handled just 16 flights and around 2,300 passengers in November 2023.

Experts argue that local governments should partially finance the construction and operation of regional airports to prevent the proliferation of inefficient and financially unsustainable facilities. Lee Yun-cheol, a professor at Korea Aerospace University's Department of Management in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province emphasized the need to expand the responsibilities of local governments to ensure the long-term sustainability of regional airports without incurring financial risks.

"Local governments have long believed that having a state-run airport would boost their local economies, but look at these financially struggling regional airports. That belief is far from true," Lee said.

"There is a clear cycle where airports built for political reasons and based on unrealistic expectations of regional development end up with worsening financial conditions, dangerous operations and safety risks for passengers. Instead of building new airports, we should focus on improving the management of existing ones."

However, efforts to have local governments partially finance the construction and operation of regional airports have been stalled, according to the transport ministry. The ministry revealed that it had planned to implement such a policy over a decade ago, but most local governments seeking to build airports in their regions have refused to assume financial responsibility.

"Of course, airports would be better managed with more rigorous funding," said an official at the ministry's airport policy division.

"But local governments are mostly unwilling to bear the financial burden, relying entirely on the central government. Many cities and counties have demanded new airports, but if we asked them now to finance the projects, I doubt they would agree."