Environmental Groups Urge Cancellation of Heuksan Airport Planned on Migratory Bird Route

There have been calls to completely scrap and reconsider the construction of Heuksan Airport, which was planned to be built on Heuksando in Sinan County, South Jeolla Province, following the 'December 29 Muan Airport Jeju Air disaster'.

The Gwangju-Jeonnam Federation for Environmental Movements stated in a press release on the 5th, "Although it will take considerable time to determine the exact cause of the Jeju Air disaster, there was a bird strike warning from the control tower just before the accident, and based on survivor testimonies, a bird strike may have been the primary cause of the disaster."

They went on to argue that since Heuksando is located on the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) for migratory birds, and because Heuksando and Hongdo are stopover sites for 80% of the country's migratory bird population, the risks must be reassessed.

Aerial view of Heuksando.

The environmental group explained, "Among 14 airports nationwide, Muan Airport has the highest bird strike rate at 0.09%, and the probability at Heuksan Airport is expected to be similar or even higher, at 0.01 to 0.1%. With 17,000 flights per year, this could mean up to 17 bird strikes annually."

They added, "Although it has not been conclusively confirmed that a bird strike caused the Jeju Air disaster, the high likelihood of bird strikes at Heuksan Airport means we cannot help but be concerned about the potential for major accidents."

The environmental group asserted, "In the strategic environmental impact assessment for Heuksan Airport, all research institutes under the Ministry of Environment?including the Korea Environment Institute, National Institute of Ecology, National Institute of Environmental Research, Korea National Park Research Institute, and Migratory Bird Research Center?opposed the project. However, under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, part of the national park was lifted and the airport construction plan passed the review, which is an unprecedented case globally."

Meanwhile, Heuksando is located 93 km southwest of Mokpo, and the only means of transportation is a passenger ferry, which takes two hours even by high-speed boat. Residents of Heuksando argue that an airport is necessary to respond to emergency patients, as high waves often make high-speed ferry operations difficult.

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