History
The airport originally started out as a runway built by Japanese forces in 1939-1942. It played a major role during the Korean War, including the defection of North Korean pilot No Kum-Sok and is associated with Operation Moolah. In 1958 was designated as the international airport of the South Korean capital city.
Since then it has grown into a much more significant airport that is capable of handling 226,000 flights a year. The airport had one domestic and two international terminals before its international function was replaced by Incheon International Airport. Gimpo currently has two runways (3600 m×45 m & 3200 m×60 m), two passenger terminals, and one cargo terminal.
The airport is located south of the Han River in western Seoul. (The name "Gimpo" comes from the nearby city of Gimpo, of which the airport used to be a part.)
On November 29, 2003, scheduled services between Gimpo and Tokyo International Airport (Haneda) in Tokyo, Japan began. Services to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport started on October 28, 2007. Services to Kansai International Airport In Osaka, Japan started on October 26, 2008. Services to Beijing Capital International Airport started on July 1, 2011.
Airlines that formerly served Gimpo but no longer fly to Korea are listed: Air New Zealand, Alitalia, Ansett Australia, Continental Airlines, Iberia Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Lauda Air, Qantas, Saudia, Swissair, VASP.
Read more about this topic: Gimpo International Airport
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