Ambitious KAC securing Ecuador airport deal, moves into Laos

When it comes to thinking of Korean airport operators that are active internationally, Incheon International Airport Corporation automatically springs to mind.

However, in the background, Korea Airports Corporation is quietly manoeuvring into Latin America in two separate countries, and now in its own Asia Pacific backyard, with a feasibility study in Laos that could lead to an expansion project there.

In aviation, as with anywhere else, it is often a case of 'horses for courses' and the foreign airports to which KAC is attaching itself are not dissimilar to those it operates in Korea, except that they are currently devoid of budget airlines.

KAC's knowledge and experience in this area will be mutually beneficial to these foreign airports in time, but in the immediate future the going will be tough. Meanwhile, KAC has had difficulty keeping most of its domestic airports in the black, which may be another reason for its external ambitions.