South Jeolla Province Pushes for Reopening of Muan Airport
On April 2, 2021, a passenger plane takes off from Gwangju Airport. / Yonhap News
Kang Gi-jung, the mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, has officially proposed the temporary operation of international flights at Gwangju Airport.
On the 18th, Mayor Kang stated, “Due to the prolonged closure of Muan Airport, global accessibility is hindered and the tourism industry is facing a crisis. Many local residents and the tourism industry are demanding temporary international flights at Gwangju Airport,” adding, “Our city will propose the temporary operation of international flights to the government.”
Operations at Muan International Airport were suspended following the aftermath of a Jeju Air passenger plane accident on December 29 last year. South Jeolla Province is pushing for a reopening in August after upgrading the localizer (landing guidance facility) and runway, which were identified as causes of the disaster.
Mayor Kang highlighted the reasons for the demand for temporary international flights: “Due to the worst aviation disaster in Korea’s history, the relocation of integrated civilian-military airports and the creation of a gateway airport project for the southwestern region are also adrift,” suggesting that “the government should announce a phased roadmap for properly establishing a gateway airport and airport city.”
Muan Airport opened in 2007 as a hub airport in the southwestern region, with a budget of 305.6 billion won on a site of 815,000 pyeong (2.696 million square meters). International flights at Gwangju Airport were suspended in November 2007 after the opening of Muan Airport, which served destinations like Japan and Southeast Asia.
Muan Airport, which operated international flights only, had 895,000 users in 2019. However, due to the spread of COVID-19, the number of users dropped to 113,000 in 2020 and to 21,000 in 2021. In 2023, the users numbered 246,000, and as of November last year, the figure was only 327,500.
Given the unimpressive performance despite its name as a “gateway airport for the southwestern region,” there are ongoing efforts to merge Gwangju’s civilian airport, which shares a site with Gwangju military airport, with Muan Airport.
This is because Gwangju’s civilian airport serves domestic flights to Jeju and Seoul Gimpo and handles approximately 2 million passengers annually.
Gwangju wishes to consolidate both the civilian and military airports into Muan Airport. The Gwangju military airport, currently occupying 2.48 million pyeong (8.198 million square meters), was located on the outskirts of Gwangju when it was built on the current site in Gwangju’s Gwangsan-gu in 1964, but residential areas have since encroached as the city has grown.
The noise problem from fighter jets led to the enactment of the “Special Act on the Relocation and Support of Military Airports” in 2013, bringing the military airport relocation project into the public eye.
However, Muan County maintains that “it cannot accept the relocation of the military airport due to noise issues from fighter jets, but can only accept the civilian airport, creating a stalemate in the integration of Gwangju and Muan airports.”
Mayor Kang emphasized, “The government must first clarify when and how Muan Airport will reopen and also reveal a phased plan for advancing to a gateway airport for the southwestern region, as demanded by the citizens of Gwangju and South Jeolla residents.”
He added, “The proposal for the temporary operation of international flights at Gwangju Airport might seem like a call for a new southwestern gateway airport, but I haven’t changed my mind about integrating Gwangju Airport with Muan Airport to establish it as the regional gateway airport.”
Gwangju City’s proposal for the temporary operation of international flights at Gwangju Airport seems to be a call for the government to provide a “roadmap for a southwestern gateway airport” that considers the reopening of Muan Airport and the integration of Gwangju’s civilian and military airports.
Mayor Kang noted that the temporary operation of international flights at Gwangju Airport should continue “until Muan International Airport reopens as a safe and secure facility.”
South Jeolla Province considers the temporary operation of international flights at Gwangju Airport to be practically impossible. It estimates that building or refurbishing the facilities needed for international flight operations, such as customs, immigration, and quarantine systems, might take up to two years.
An official from South Jeolla stated, “Last September, Gwangju City’s proposal for temporary international flight operations did not receive approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport. Now is the time for Gwangju and South Jeolla to work together to achieve the early normalization of Muan Airport so that it can re-emerge as a representative gateway airport for the southwestern region.”