Incheon International Airport Achieves Cumulative Air Cargo Volume of 50 Million Tons in 20 Years Since Opening

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Incheon International Airport Corporation announced on the 3rd that it achieved a cumulative air cargo volume of 50 million tons last month on the 27th, marking 20 years since the opening of Incheon Airport in 2001.

Over the past 20 years, the estimated value of goods imported and exported through Incheon Airport is approximately 15 trillion dollars (17,224.9062 trillion KRW). This amount is about nine times South Korea's 2020 GDP (1.6382 trillion dollars), and air cargo transportation includes many high-value items such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, accounting for 33.6% of the country's total import and export value last year.

The 50 million tons of air cargo corresponds to 500,000 flights of the Boeing 747-400F, a representative large cargo aircraft currently operated worldwide, based on a 100-ton loading capacity. If 500,000 Boeing 747-400Fs were parked in a row, the distance would circle the Earth (40,000 km) once.

Incheon Airport's air cargo volume, which was 1.2 million tons in 2001, improved annually, reaching 2.55 million tons in 2007. However, due to the impact of the 2008 U.S. financial crisis, the volume dropped to 2.31 million tons in 2009. As the global economy gradually recovered, the airport achieved its highest record of 2.95 million tons in 2018 since its opening, showing slight fluctuations but an overall upward trend.

Despite the sharp decline in international passengers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Incheon Airport's air cargo volume in the first half of this year increased by 23% compared to the same period last year, reaching 1.62 million tons. It is expected to achieve 3 million tons annually for the first time since its opening. This is anticipated to further solidify Incheon Airport's status as a top 3 global cargo airport.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is continuously developing the airport logistics complex to enable Incheon Airport to become a Northeast Asia air logistics hub. In addition to the current seven airline cargo terminals (including Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and foreign carriers), expansion of dedicated terminals for global express delivery companies is underway.

Starting in September, a ‘dedicated fresh cargo handling facility’ will be operated to minimize transshipment waiting and transit times for vaccines, bio-pharmaceuticals, fresh food, live animals, etc., and to ensure safe handling even under severe weather conditions. This is expected to greatly aid the recovery of the aviation industry from COVID-19 by creating new cargo demand such as vaccine transportation.

Kim Yong-seok, Director of Aviation Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, “The achievement of 50 million tons of cumulative air cargo at Incheon Airport is the result of the dedicated efforts of the government, airport corporation, airlines, and logistics companies.” He added, “We will actively support the air logistics industry, including converting passenger aircraft to cargo aircraft during the COVID-19 situation, and continuously build aviation logistics infrastructure such as future-oriented smart cargo terminals to help Incheon Airport grow into a world-class air logistics airport.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.