Fourth Incheon Airport expansion phase almost complete; it will reveal an ‘Up-Great’ facility

One of the airports worst affected by the COVID-19 pandemic was Seoul's Incheon International Airport, where passenger numbers fell from 71.2 million in 2019 to 3.2 million in 2021.

But it did not stop construction work that has been going on consistently since 1992. It is now in the fourth and final phase and will come to a conclusion in the second half of 2024.

With a 287% passenger growth rate so far in 2023, and one of 459% in 2022, Incheon airport can again look forward to having the third largest capacity of any such airport in the world - and to being able to fill it.

This prospect has prompted the management to refer to the project as one of 'Up-Greating' rather than upgrading.

Just how well Incheon performs, though, will partially depend on a greater presence of foreign airlines than is evident right now.