Gimpo Airport
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Template:Koreanname noimage Gimpo Airport (formerly Kimpo International Airport) served as the main international airport for Seoul and South Korea when it was replaced by Incheon International Airport in 2001. Its IATA airport code is GMP (formerly SEL) and its ICAO airport code is RKSS. Korean Air and Asiana Airlines now provides frequent domestic service to Gimpo Airport. All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, Japan Airlines, and Korean Air provide services from Gimpo to Tokyo International Airport in Tokyo, Japan- it is the sole international route at Gimpo.
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History
The airport originally started out as a runway built by US forces in 1951 during the Korean War and has since grown into a much more significant airport that is capable of handling 226,000 flights a year. The airport had 1 domestic and 2 international terminals before its international function was replaced by Incheon International Airport. Gimpo currently has two runways, 3,600m × 45m and 3,200m × 60m.
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.) 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. For 500 Won (roughly 50 cents US at the time), one could take the subway from Gimpo Airport all the way into downtown Seoul. The airport is served by the subway, as well as by buses to Seoul and to Incheon International Airport.
Future plans include Seoul Subway line 9 to Banpo, and a rail link to Incheon International Airport and Seoul Station.
Timeline
- In 1983, a Korean Air flight that was supposed to land here, Korean Air Flight 007, which was flying from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, New York to Kimpo via Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska ran into Soviet air space and was shot down. All passengers died.
- In 1987, Korean Air Flight 858, which was flying from Abu Dhabi International Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates to Bangkok International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, to Kimpo was blown up midair by a bomb planted by North Korean agents. Everyone on board died after the plane exploded over the Andaman Sea.
- If Project Bojinka had not been discovered after a fire in Manila, Philippines, one or more aircraft owned by a U.S. carrier/s flying to this airport would have blown up over the Pacific Ocean on January 21, 1995 as part of the project's first phase.
- In 1997, Korean Air Flight 801, a Boeing 747 that had taken off from this airport, crashed before landing at General Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, killing all but 26 of its passengers.
- On November 29, 2003, scheduled services between Gimpo and Tokyo International Airport in Tokyo, Japan started, providing the only existing international link for both city airports.
See also
External links
- Gimpo Airport (http://gimpo.airport.co.kr/)ja:金浦国際空港