Incheon International Airport held a ceremony on Tuesday to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of the airport. Over 2,000 guests attended, including Korean Minister of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Chung Jong-hwan, Incheon Mayor Song Young-gil and the airport operator’s CEO Lee Chae-wook. When the airport first opened it offered flights to 109 cities around the world on 47 airlines. A decade later 67 airlines fly to 172 destinations. Its annual passenger numbers surpassed 33 million last year, placing it ahead of Tokyo’s Narita as the world’s eighth largest.
Through a three-stage expansion project, the Korean government plans to attract 62 million passengers and process 5.8 million tons of cargo per year by 2017, cementing the airport’s status as a leading hub in Northeast Asia.