Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province is expected to continue operating at a loss this year due to the prolonged runway closure following the Jeju Air passenger plane accident. Muan Airport recorded the largest deficit among domestic airports last year. The airport generates revenue based on passenger numbers, but Jeju Air, its largest customer, has reduced winter flights due to the accident.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the aviation industry on the 14th, the runway closure at Muan Airport has been extended until 5 a.m. on the 19th of this month. This means that the airport will be closed for three weeks following the accident on December 29 last year. Although the remains of all 179 victims have been returned to their families for burial, investigations at the accident site have not yet concluded, prompting this measure ahead of the joint memorial service scheduled for the 18th of this month.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has not even finalized a plan for resuming operations at Muan Airport. Even after the investigation at the accident site is completed, airport facilities must be restored and safety inspections conducted before operations can resume. Recovery of the localizer (directional facility), cited as a cause of exacerbating the accident, is expected to take several months, meaning it will take a long time for Muan Airport to operate as it did before the accident.
Muan Airport recorded 5 billion won in revenue and an operating loss of 25.3 billion won in 2023, the largest deficit among 15 domestic airports. In comparison, Gwangju Airport near Muan recorded 9.7 billion won in revenue, which is half that of Muan Airport, and an operating loss of 8.6 billion won, nearly three times that of Muan.
The primary reason for Muan Airport's deficit is its low runway utilization rate. In 2023, Muan Airport's runway utilization rate was 1.1%, the lowest among private airports managed by the Korea Airports Corporation. Jeju International Airport had the highest rate at 88.4%, followed by Gimhae International Airport (54.1%), Gimpo International Airport (53.8%), Cheongju International Airport (16%), and Daegu International Airport (14.4%). The runway utilization rate refers to the actual percentage of civil aircraft usage compared to the annual processing capacity of the runway.
Gwangju Airport near Muan has a runway utilization rate of 9.4%, while Yeosu (8%), Ulsan (5.3%), and Yangyang (3.3%) also have low utilization rates but are higher than that of Muan Airport. The utilization rates of military airports are similar to or higher than that of Muan Airport, except for Gunsan Airport (0.8%), with Pohang-Gyeongju Airport (1.5%), Wonju Airport (1.2%), and Sacheon Airport (1.1%).
Muan Airport charges fees to both passengers and airlines. The local international airport user fee is 12,000 won per passenger, while transit passengers are charged 10,000 won. In January and February last year, Muan Airport had a total of 100,623 passengers, accounting for 25% of total passengers; however, operations have been disrupted this year in January and February due to the accident.
Airport revenue from airlines is also expected to decline this year. Jin Air and Jeju Air currently operate at Muan Airport. In the week prior to the accident, they operated 32 international passenger flights. Most flights utilized Boeing 737-800 aircraft, and landing fees were 319,000 won per flight, with lighting fees of 43,000 won and parking fees of 77,000 won. If the airport does not operate normally in January and February, it could result in a revenue loss of several hundred million won.
If the management issues at Muan Airport continue long-term, the burden on the Korea Airports Corporation, which operates the airport, and the local government, Jeollanam-do, will inevitably increase. Muan Airport has not posted a profit even once in the past 10 years, resulting in a cumulative operating loss of 181.7 billion won.
The Korea Airports Corporation, which operates and manages 14 airports in the country, uses the revenue from profitable airports such as Gimpo, Gimhae, and Jeju to offset losses at other airports. The corporation recorded profits before the COVID-19 pandemic but has since continued to report losses since 2020. In 2023, it recorded 850.2 billion won in revenue and an operating loss of 52.1 billion won.
The burden on Jeollanam-do, which spends hundreds of millions of won to operate airports in the province, is also likely to increase. Last year, Jeollanam-do spent 1.2 billion won to financially support airlines operating at Muan Airport. Additionally, it allocated 600 million won to promote airport revitalization and 300 million won for the operation of Muan Airport's intercity bus service, totaling 2.1 billion won in expenditures.