Gimhae International Airport

"Busan Airport" redirects here. For the new airport under construction, see Gadeok Island Airport.

For the military use of this facility, see Gimhae Air Base.

Gimhae International Airport (IATA: PUS, ICAO: RKPK) is located on the western end of Busan, South Korea. Opened in 1976, the airport is named after the nearby city of Gimhae. A new international terminal opened on October 31, 2007.^[3] Gimhae International Airport is the main hub for Air Busan, and a focus city for Jeju Air, Jin Air and Korean Air. Runway 18L/36R is used for military purposes only for Gimhae Air Base, but due to increasing traffic, there are plans to open the runway for airliners.^{[citation needed]} In 2018, 17,064,613 passengers used the airport.

Gimhae International Airport 김해국제공항
IATA: PUS ICAO: RKPK
Summary
Airport type	Public / military
Owner	Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Operator	Korea Airports Corporation Republic of Korea Air Force
Serves	Busan–Gyeongnam Area and Gyeongsang Province
Location	Gangseo District, Busan, South Korea
Opened	1 August 1976; 48 years ago (1976-08-01)
Hub for	Air Busan Korean Air
Focus city for	Jeju Air Jin Air
Elevation AMSL	6 ft / 2 m
Coordinates	35°10′46″N 128°56′18″E
Website	www.airport.co.kr/gimhaeeng/
Map
PUS/RKPK Location of airport in Busan Show map of Busan PUS/RKPK Location of airport in South Korea Show map of South Korea
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 18L/36R 2,743 9,007 Concrete 18R/36L 3,200 10,499 Concrete
Statistics (2024)
Aircraft movements 94,870 International passengers 9,005,803 Domestic passengers 6,746,655 Total passengers 15,752,458
Sources: World Aero Data[1] Korea Airports Corporation[2]

Gimhae International Airport
Hangul	김해국제공항
Hanja	金海國際空港
Revised Romanization	Gimhae Gukje Gonghang
McCune–Reischauer	Kimhae Kukche Konghang

As the airport is now beyond its design capacity and surrounded by mountains, buildings and other objectives, a new airport is currently being built on Gadeokdo to meet growing demand.^[4][5] Because the airport is shared with military facilities, photography and video of the apron, runway, and military stations are prohibited according to the airport website.^[6]

History

In August 1976, Gimhae Airport opened, and commercial air traffic shifted there from the old airport. A new domestic terminal was completed in May 1983.^[7] Korean Air launched a route to Honolulu in October 1992.^[8] In April 2002, Northwest Airlines began service to its hub at Tokyo's Narita Airport, where people could board connecting flights to the United States.^[9][10] In March 2007, Lufthansa inaugurated service to Munich via Seoul. This was the first route between Busan and Europe.^[11][12] President Roh Moo-hyun opened a new international terminal seven months later.^[13] Delta Air Lines, which had merged with Northwest, ended the Tokyo link in May 2012.^[9][11] Lufthansa terminated its flight to Busan in March 2014.^[14]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Airlines	Destinations
Air Busan	Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi,[15] Cebu,[16] Da Nang, Denpasar,[17] Fukuoka, Haikou,[18] Hong Kong,[19] Jeju, Kalibo, Kaohsiung, Kota Kinabalu,[20] Macau, Matsuyama, Nha Trang,[21] Osaka–Kansai, Qingdao, Sanya, Sapporo–Chitose, Seoul–Gimpo, Tagbilaran, Taipei–Taoyuan,[22] Tokyo–Narita, Ulaanbaatar, Vientiane, Xi'an, Yanji, Zhangjiajie
Air China	Beijing–Capital[23]
Beijing Capital Airlines	Huangshan[24]
China Airlines	Taipei–Taoyuan
China Eastern Airlines	Shanghai–Pudong[25]
China Southern Airlines	Shenyang[25] Seasonal: Yanji[26]
Eastar Jet	Chiang Mai,[27] Jeju, Kumamoto,[28] Naha,[28] Taipei–Taoyuan,[29] Yanji
HK Express	Hong Kong[30]
Jeju Air	Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Cebu, Da Nang, Fukuoka, Jeju, Kaohsiung,[31] Osaka–Kansai, Sapporo–Chitose, Seoul–Gimpo, Shijiazhuang,[32] Singapore,[33] Tagbilaran,[34] Taipei–Taoyuan,[35] Tokyo–Narita, Ulaanbaatar,[36] Zhangjiajie
Jin Air	Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Cebu, Clark, Da Nang, Fukuoka, Guam, Jeju, Naha,[37] Nha Trang, Osaka–Kansai, Sapporo–Chitose,[38] Seoul–Gimpo,[39] Taipei–Taoyuan,[40] Tokyo–Narita, Ulaanbaatar (begins 22 May 2025)[41]
Korean Air	Beijing–Capital,[42] Fukuoka,[43] Jeju, Nagoya–Centrair,[43] Qingdao,[44] Seoul–Gimpo, Seoul–Incheon,1 Shanghai–Pudong,[45] Taipei–Taoyuan,[46] Tokyo–Narita Seasonal: Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi[47][48]
MIAT Mongolian Airlines	Ulaanbaatar
Philippine Airlines	Manila
Qanot Sharq	Tashkent (begins 3 June 2025)[49]
Shanghai Airlines	Shanghai–Pudong
Singapore Airlines	Singapore[50]
Spring Airlines	Shanghai–Pudong[51]
Tigerair Taiwan	Taipei–Taoyuan[52]
T'way Air	Nha Trang, Osaka–Kansai,[53] Seoul–Gimpo
VietJet Air	Da Nang,[54] Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City,[54] Nha Trang,[55] Phu Quoc[56]
Vietnam Airlines	Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang (begins 1 June 2025)[57]

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Korean Air Cargo	Seoul–Incheon[citation needed]

^1 Korean Air between Busan and Incheon is available only to passengers flying internationally to/from South Korea with Korean Air^[58]

Statistics

Terminal interior

Terminal interior

Terminal exterior

Passengers

Air traffic statistics
	Aircraft operations	Passenger volume	Cargo tonnage
2001	61,242	9,168,089	203,335
2002	60,090	9,173,288	204,464
2003	58,600	8,782,835	185,372
2004	52,212	7,674,153	175,850
2005	50,735	7,045,806	152,407
2006	52,935	7,071,037	135,607
2007	58,119	7,403,262	126,947
2008	59,575	7,202,117	113,710
2009	61,171	6,870,157	105,320
2010	62,225	8,160,546	119,390
2011	66,525	8,749,153	126,710
2012	71,713	9,196,090	121,256
2013	77,665	9,671,381	116,185
2014	78,646	10,378,867	123,242
2015	87,709	12,382,150	146,694
2016	99,358	14,900,815	185,472
2017	107,363	16,403,541	186,471
2018	110,924	17,064,613	183,507
2019	111,276	16,931,023	171,953
2020	53,150	7,235,652	48,250
2021	57,694	8,859,304	36,010
2022	61,733	10,027,097	55,555
2023	82,185	13,694,710	113,703
2024	94,870	15,752,458	146,816
Source: Korea Airports Corporation Traffic Statistics[59]

Top carriers

In 2024, the ten carriers with the largest percentage of passengers flying into, out of, or through Gimhae International Airport are as follows:

Top carriers (2024)

Rank	Carrier	Domestic passengers	International passengers	Total	%
1	Air Busan	2,578,382	2,784,308	5,362,690	34.04%
2	Jeju Air	1,112,222	1,645,376	2,757,598	17.51%
3	Korean Air	1,903,675	786,946	2,690,621	17.08%
4	Jin Air	870,638	1,389,328	2,259,966	14.35%
5	VietJet Air		792,974	792,974	5.03%
6	T'way Air	205,060	233,608	438,668	2.78%
7	Vietnam Airlines		367,743	367,743	2.78%
8	China Airlines		220,593	220,593	1.40%
9	Philippine Airlines		126,449	126,449	0.8%
10	Eastar Jet	76,678	40,735	117,413	0.7%

Top destinations

Busiest domestic routes (2024)

Rank	Airport	Passengers	Top carriers
1	Jeju	3,514,193	Air Busan, Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air
2	Seoul–Gimpo	2,822,980	Air Busan, Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air, T'way Air
3	Seoul–Incheon	409,482	Jeju Air, Korean Air

Busiest international routes (2024)

Rank	Airport	Passengers	Top carriers
1	Fukuoka	1,167,935	Air Busan, Jeju Air, Korean Air
2	Osaka–Kansai	1,034,422	Air Busan, Jeju Air, Jin Air, T'way Air
3	Taipei–Taoyuan	923,928	Air Busan, China Airlines, Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air, Tigerair Taiwan
4	Tokyo–Narita	681,262	Air Busan, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air
5	Nha Trang	545,479	Air Busan, Jin Air, VietJet Air, T'way Air
6	Da Nang	514,320	Air Busan, Jeju Air, Jin Air, VietJet Air
7	Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi	475,004	Air Busan, Jeju Air, Jin Air, Korean Air
8	Hanoi	327,286	VietJet Air, Vietnam Airlines
9	Ho Chi Minh City	323,548	VietJet Air, Vietnam Airlines
10	Shanghai–Pudong	278,142	China Eastern Airlines, Korean Air, Shanghai Airlines, Spring Airlines
11	Sapporo–Chitose	256,360	Air Busan, Jeju Air, Jin Air
12	Cebu	244,010	Jeju Air, Jin Air
13	Tagbilaran	182,140	Air Busan, Jeju Air
14	Singapore	156,460	Jeju Air, Singapore Airlines
15	Kaohsiung	144,008	Air Busan, Jeju Air
16	Phu Quoc	138,164	Vietjet Air
17	Manila	126,449	Philippine Airlines
18	Hong Kong	122,830	Air Busan, HK Express
19	Qingdao	116,650	Air Busan, Korean Air
20	Guam	115,346	Jin Air

Ground transportation

Gimhae International Airport Station

Busan-Gimhae LRT train

Metro

• Busan-Gimhae Light Rail Transit : Gimhae International Airport Station

Bus

Airport Limousine Bus

• Gimhae International Airport (from Airport to Busan station) International Terminal - Domestic Terminal - Jagalchi (Chungmudong)
• Gimhae International Airport (from Busan Station to Airport) - Airport (International Terminal)
• Gimhae International Airport (International Terminal) - Domestic Terminal - Yangwoon middle school

Regional Bus

• 1009 : Geumgok-dong ↔ Gimhae Airport ↔ Gadeok-do Sunchang
• 307 : Gimhae Airport ↔ Haeundae
• Gangseo No. 11 : Ulman ↔ Gimhae Int'l Airport ↔ Deokcheon station (Gupo Market)
• Gangseo No. 13 : Hadan ↔ Gimhae Int'l Airport ↔ Deokcheon station (Deokcheon JCT)

Intercity Bus

Masan, Changwon, Jinhae, Jangyu, Gimhae, Pohang, Gyeongju, Gumi, Dongdaegu, Ulsan, Eonyang, Yangsan, Gohyeon, Okpo, Jangseungpo

Incidents and accidents

• On January 31, 2001, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40, operating as Japan Airlines Flight 958 was en route from Gimhae to Narita International Airport and narrowly avoided a mid-air collision with another Japan Airlines plane over Yaizu in Suruga Bay. All 250 people on the DC-10 were uninjured.^{[citation needed]}
• On April 15, 2002, a Boeing 767-200ER, operating as Air China Flight 129 from Beijing Capital International Airport to Busan, crashed into a hill while trying to land at Gimhae during inclement weather, killing 129 of the 166 people on board.^{[citation needed]}
• On 28 January 2025, an Airbus A321-200 operating as Air Busan Flight 391, caught fire before takeoff at Gimhae en route to Hong Kong, resulting in seven injuries and the evacuation of all 176 people on board.^[60][61]

See also

• Gimhae Air Base
• Transportation in South Korea