Smooth opening for Seoul's Incheon airport

Korean officials have touted Incheon airport as the hub of Northeast Asia

By Sohn Jie-Ae
CNN Seoul Bureau Chief

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- South Korea's Asiana Airline's passenger plane from Bangkok made a graceful landing at the new Incheon International Airport just before five in the morning, christening the first day of operations.

As the plane landed, airport and government officials, including the minister of construction, Oh Chnag-Sup, anxiously watching from the control tower, let out cheers of joy and obvious relief.

Even before its opening, the airport, touted by Korean officials as the hub of Northeast Asia, faced concerns about whether it was ready or not.

The Incheon airport is able to handle some 27 million passengers, 1.7 million tons of cargo and 170,000 flights a year.

Outside reports had cited major concerns in the airport's operations, citing the baggage handling system was not completely functional and its integration with x-rays and explosive detecting devices failed recent tests.

The airport did decide to run its baggage handling system on a semi-automatic mode after glitches in recent test runs.

Domestic and international media did report some operational glitches. Passengers getting on a Northwest flight to Honolulu via Tokyo, suffered about a 30 minute delay due to technical problems related to baggage handling.

Apart from minor glitches in baggage handling, everything else ran smoothly on the first day

But contrary to fears, the first day of operation revealed few problems. "Everything, including arrivals and departures of flights, is going well under control," said the airport spokesman, Lim Dong-Myung.

The Asiana pilot of the first flight into the new airport sang its praises. "I believe this airport is equipped with better facilities than any other airport in the world," said Roh Un-Sang.

Some passengers also seemed relieved. " A few days ago I was worried when I read there had been problems at the trial operations. However, I have not seen any troubles," said one Korean passenger.

But some passengers worried about how much further the Incheon airport was to Seoul than the old airport.

"I don't know how far away from the city it is." Said Michael Sheridan. "But I think we are quite a long away. I just think maybe the transportation system might not be good."

Right now, only the highway links the airport with central Seoul. Trains won't be ready until 2005.

While airport officials admit the airport has hurdles to overcome, they also are confident they won't be too hard to overcome. And say if the first day of operation is any indication, the Incheon airport is off to a successful take-off.

Strike averted at new Incheon airport
March 28, 2001
South Korea's new airport gets green light
March 27, 2001
South Korea's Incheon airport opens
March 29, 2001

South Korea Government
Incheon International Airport

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.