"Sky Route to Open"... Ulleung County Holds Ulleung Airport Briefing Session with Experts and Residents

Residents gathered with keen interest to see how the air route to the island would be mapped out.

On December 9, a 'Ulleung Airport Construction Project Resident Briefing Session with Aviation Experts' was held at the Ulleung County Community Center on Ulleungdo Island.

Ulleung Airport Construction Project Resident Briefing Session. Provided by Ulleung County

This briefing session was organized to invite experts to explain the current status of the Ulleung Airport construction project, the largest national project on Ulleungdo, which aims for completion in 2027 and opening in the first half of 2028, as well as to discuss various safety measures that will be implemented at Ulleung Airport in the future.

The session was attended by the Airport Construction Team of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which oversees the Ulleung Airport construction, the Busan Regional Office of Aviation, which is the ordering authority, Korea Airports Corporation, Korea Aviation Association, Island Air, Gyeongbuk Research Institute, DL E&C (the construction company), and Korea Engineering Consultants Corp. (the management team). From Ulleung County, County Governor Nam Han-gwon, Ulleung County Council Chairman Lee Sang-sik and council members, Gyeongbuk Provincial Council member Nam Jin-bok, Jeong Seok-du, chairman of the Public-Private Council for Safe Ulleung Airport Construction, its members, and about 200 residents interested in the Ulleung Airport construction project attended.

The briefing session included a report on the progress of the Ulleung Airport construction project, sharing interim results of a study to establish a roadmap for the start of Ulleung Airport operations, an introduction of Island Air, the airline hoping to operate flights, and a Q&A session covering the overall construction project. In addition, explanations were provided on the application of the runway overrun prevention system (EMAS) at Ulleung Airport, plans for installing navigation safety and lighting facilities for instrument flight, measures to enhance the safety of the 1,200-meter runway, and ways to reduce the flight cancellation rate. There were also presentations on the performance of the 'ATR 72' aircraft scheduled to operate at the airport and safe operation cases at similar airports overseas, such as Yoronjima Airport in Japan, which helped improve residents' understanding of Ulleung Airport's safety.

Governor Nam Han-gwon stated, "I would like to express my deep gratitude to the officials of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Busan Regional Office of Aviation, and all the experts who organized this resident briefing session. I hope the Ulleung Airport construction project will proceed without interruption. Going forward, Ulleung County will regularly hold briefing sessions to listen to residents’ opinions on the airport project and share information related to the construction with the community, so that we can create a safe Ulleung Airport together with the people of Ulleung County."

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