Incheon International Airport will start phase three of its expansion plans this June, in a bid to boost its capacity.
This involves the construction of a new passenger terminal to the north of the airport, which would raise its annual passenger capacity to 62 million, a hike from the current 44 million.
The work will be completed by 2017, in time for the 2018 Winter Olympics where South Korea will be host country, Incheon's director Tony Cho told Flightglobal in an interview on the sidelines of the 8th ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly in Phuket.
He adds that in the second part of its phase three expansion, the airport will further boost its capacity to handle 100 million passengers by 2020.
"We could also build a fourth runway, depending on the demand, but this will likely be after 2020. We however already have the land," says Cho.
Incheon handled 250,000 aircraft movements last year, below its capacity of 410,000 movements, which its three runways can take.
"Our focus is still on getting more transit passengers, to strengthen our position as a regional hub," says Cho.
Last year, 38 million passengers, of which 98% were on international flights, passed through the gates of Incheon airport.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
