Gimpo International Airport (Korean: ?????? [kimp?o?ukt??e?o?ha?]), commonly known as Gimpo Airport (IATA: GMP, ICAO: RKSS) (formerly 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. In 2014, 21,566,946 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.)
On 29 November 2003, scheduled services between Gimpo and Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) in Tokyo, Japan began. Services to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport started on 28 October 2007. Services to Kansai International Airport In Osaka, Japan started on 26 October 2008. Services to Beijing Capital International Airport started on 1 July 2011. Services to Taipei Songshan Airport started on 30 April 2012.
Airlines that formerly served Gimpo but no longer fly to Korea are listed: Air New Zealand, Ansett Australia (ceased operation), Continental Airlines (merged into United), Iberia Airlines, Japan Air System (merged into Japan Airlines), Kuwait Airways, Lauda Air (merged into Austrian), Qantas (now cargo only), Saudia, Continental Micronesia (merged with Continental Airlines), Swissair (ceased operation), VASP (ceased operation), and Pan Am (Pacific routes sold to United and ceased operation).
Airlines and Destinations
Gimpo Airport primarily serves domestic and limited international flights to Japan, Taiwan, and China.
Hotels Near Gimpo Airport Video
Traffic and Statistics
Top carriers
In 2012, the ten carriers with the largest percentage of passengers flying into, out of, or through Gimpo International Airport are as follows:
Other Facilities
The Aviation and Railway Accident Investigation Board (ARAIB) has its FDR/CVR Analysis and Wreckage Laboratory on the property of the airport. When the predecessor agency Korea Aviation Accident Investigation Board (KAIB) existed, its CVR/FDR and wreckage laboratory was located on the airport property.
Ground Transportation
Rail
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.
History
The airfield was originally constructed in 1939-1942 during the Japanese Imperial period.
Korean War
Gimpo played a major role during the Korean War, and the USAF designated the airfield as Kimpo Air Base or K-14.
North Korean forces attacked South Korea on 25 June 1950 starting the Korean War. During one of the first Korean People's Air Force (KPAF) attacks on 25 June a Military Air Transport Service C-54 Skymaster was destroyed on the ground at Gimpo. On 27 June US naval and air forces began evacuating 748 US diplomats, military dependents, and civilians by air transport from Kimpo and Suwon Airfield. On the afternoon of 27 June five F-82 Twin Mustangs of the 68th Fighter Squadron and 339th Fighter Squadron were escorting four C-54 Skymaster aircraft out of Kimpo when the C-54s were attacked by five KPAF Lavochkin La-7 fighters. In the subsequent dogfights three LA-7s were shot down for the loss of no US aircraft in the first air battle of the war. Later that day four F-80Cs of the 35th Fighter-Bomber Squadron shot down four Ilyushin Il-10s for no losses over Gimpo in the USAF's first jet-aircraft victory.
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. 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 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. On 5 August 5th Air Force fighters strafed and bombed Gimpo, destroying 9 aircraft and damaging 9 others.
Following the Inchon landings on 15 September 1950, the 2nd Battalion 5th Marines was ordered to seize Gimpo on 17 September. 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. On 19 September, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers repaired the local railroad up to eight 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 feet (1,800 m) asphalt runway at Gimpo and covering it with Marsden Matting. On 6 October the USAF took control of Gimpo from the USMC.
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.
USAF units based at Gimpo (Kimpo) included:
- 4th Fighter Wing operating F-86s from 23 August 1951 - 1 October 1954, subordinate units included:
- 334th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
- 335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
- 336th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron
- 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing from 25 June-23 August 1951
- 51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing from 10 October 1950 - 10 December 1950, subordinate units included:
- 16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron operating F-80s from 22 October 1950 - 3 January 1951
- 25th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron operating F-80s from October 1950 - November 1951
- 67th Tactical Reconnaissance Group from 20 August 1951 - 6 December 1954, subordinate units included:
- 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron operating RB-26Bs
- 15th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron operating RF-80s and RF-86s
- 45th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron operating F-51s
- 68th Fighter Squadron operating F-82s from 30 November 1950 - March 1951 and 27 June-24 August 1951
- 80th Fighter Squadron operating P-51s from 27 October-20 December 1950
Other UN units based at Gimpo (Kimpo) included:
- No. 77 Squadron RAAF operating Gloster Meteors from June 1951
On 21 September 1953 North Korean pilot No Kum-Sok defected in his MiG-15 landing at Gimpo.
Postwar
In 1958 Gimpo was designated as the international airport of the South Korean capital city and has grown into a much more significant airport that is capable of handling 226,000 flights a year. The airport had one domestic and two international terminals before its function as Seoul's primary international airport was replaced by Incheon International Airport. Gimpo currently has two runways (3600 m × 45 m & 3200 m × 60 m), two passenger terminals, and one cargo terminal.
Accidents and Incidents
- On 11 December 1969, North Korean agent Cho Ch'ang-h?i hijacked a Korean Air Lines YS-11 flying from Gangneung Airbase in Gangneung, Gangwon-do to Gimpo International Airport in Seoul. It was carrying four crewmembers and 46 passengers (excluding Cho); 39 of the passengers were returned two months later, but the crew and seven passengers remained in North Korea. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair on landing.
- On 20 April 1978, Korean Air Lines Flight 902 a Boeing 707 was shot down by the Soviet Air Force while flying from Paris, France to Anchorage, Alaska and continuing to Gimpo Airport. Two passengers were killed in the explosive decompression and the flight was able to land on a frozen lake where the remaining passengers and crew were transported to safety and then flown out of the Soviet Union back to South Korea
- On 19 November 1980, Korean Air Flight 015 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.
- On 1 September 1983, Korean Air Lines 007 (a Boeing 747) bound for Seoul from New York City via Anchorage was shot down by a Soviet interceptor jet after pilot error drifted the plane into a restricted soviet air space, all passengers and crew on board were killed as the plane plummeted into the Sea of Japan and escalated tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States.
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