Assemblyman Jo O-seop "Need to Establish Local Aviation Authority in Honam Region"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] There is a growing call for the establishment of a ‘Honam Regional Aviation Office’ to smoothly advance the integration of Gwangju and Muan Airports, construct the Heuksando New Airport without setbacks, and promptly respond to the rapidly increasing air travel demand in Gwangju and Jeonnam.

According to the National Assembly inspection data submitted by Rep. Jo Oseop (Gwangju Buk-gu Gap, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee & Budget Committee) from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Busan Regional Aviation Office on the 30th, the Seoul Regional Aviation Office oversees Incheon, Gimpo, Yangyang, Wonju, Gunsan, and Cheongju Airports; the Busan Regional Aviation Office covers Gwangju, Muan, Gimhae, Yeosu, Ulsan, Daegu, Pohang, Sacheon, and Uljin Airfield; and the Jeju Regional Aviation Office manages Jeju Airport. The Busan Regional Aviation Office is responsible for 8 out of 15 airports nationwide (53%), leading to saturation in aviation administration.

Reviewing the accident and serious incident records by regional aviation offices over the past 10 years, the Seoul Regional Aviation Office had 78 cases (39 deaths, 29 serious injuries), the Busan Regional Aviation Office had 66 cases (51 deaths, 20 serious injuries), and the Jeju Regional Aviation Office had 6 cases (2 deaths, 7 serious injuries). The Busan Regional Aviation Office jurisdiction experienced more severe casualties in accidents.

In fact, from 2014 to 2020, there were 30 accidents, serious incidents, and safety hazards near Muan Airport. In 2016, a small aircraft flight training accident resulted in 3 deaths. However, the Busan Regional Aviation Office, located about 300 km away, faces physical limitations in providing immediate response.

Therefore, it is argued that a Honam Regional Aviation Office is necessary to establish a rapid initial response system within the golden time during aviation accidents to minimize damage to citizens’ lives and property, and to cover the air travel demand of Gwangju, Muan, Yeosu Airports, as well as the newly planned Heuksando New Airport.

In preparation for the integration of Gwangju and Muan Airports, the 'Muan Airport Runway Extension Project' extending the runway by 400 meters with a total investment of 33.1 billion KRW from 2019 to 2023 will be completed. Domestic passengers are expected to increase by 600,000 from 2.23 million in 2019 to 2.83 million in 2030, and international passengers are projected to rise by 140,000 from 680,000 in 2019 to 820,000.

Additionally, the construction of Heuksando New Airport will reduce travel time from Seoul to Heuksando, which previously took about 6 hours by land and sea, to within a 1-hour living zone.

Considering that in 2015, approximately 150,000 tourists?50 times the resident population of 3,000 in Heuksando?visited the island, a sharp increase in domestic and international tourists is expected.

Moreover, although Heuksando New Airport falls under the jurisdiction of the Busan Regional Aviation Office, its construction work is handled by the Seoul Regional Aviation Office, creating an abnormal administrative structure. This underscores the urgent need for a control tower for aviation administration in the Honam region.

Rep. Jo stated, "The Busan Regional Aviation Office is reaching its limits in manpower and administrative capacity due to projects like the Ulleungdo and Gadeokdo New Airports and the Daegu Integrated Airport." He added, "To ensure the smooth progress of the Gwangju-Muan Airport integration and the construction of Heuksando New Airport, an organization dedicated to Honam regional aviation administration is necessary."

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