Airport Name and ICAO/IATA Code
Gimhae International Airport (ICAO: RKPK / IATA: PUS)
Location (City, Country)
Busan, South Korea
Airport Type & Size
Major international airport, the fourth busiest in South Korea. It serves 16 million passengers and 146,000t of cargo yearly (2024). It has two runways, 18L/36R (2,743m) and 18R/36L (3,200m), with 18R/36L being the primary landing runway, except for heavy aircraft which take off from this one.It can technically support the 747, A380, and An-124, as Korean Air’s maintenance center is here, however mountains in the area make it difficult to support large aircraft, because aircraft have to make a sharp turn to avoid the mountains while landing on runway 18L and 18R. Conversely, aircraft taking off from 36R and 36L also have to bank to avoid the mountains.
Why should this airport be added to World of Airports?
It is a hub for Air Busan and Korean Air, as well as an operating base for Jeju Air and Jin Air. It is a busy East Asian hub that has lots of connection potential, both with the region around it and internationally. The mountains also evoke the old Hong Kong Kai Tak approach, with a sharp bank right before lining up on the runway, that could be entertaining to watch.
Major Airlines & Routes
Hub for: Air Busan, Korean Air
Base for: Jeju Air, Jin Air, Eastar Jet, Republic of Korea Air ForceAir Busan - Bangkok, Cebu, Da Nang, Denpasar, Fukuoka, Guam, Kaohsiung, Kota Kinabalu, Macau, Matsuyama, Nha Trang, Osaka-Kansai, Qingdao, Sanyo, Sapporo-Chitose, Seoul-Gimpo, Tagbilaran, Taipei-Taoyuan, Tokyo-Narita, Ulaanbaatar, Vientiane, Xi’an, Yanji, Zhangjiajie
Eastar Jet - Almaty, Chiang Mai, Fukuoka, Jeju, Kumamoto, Naha, Osaka-Kansai, Sapporo-Chitose, Taipei-Taoyuan, Yanji
Jeju Air - Bangkok, Cebu, Da Nang, Fukuoka, Jeju, Kaohsiung, Osaka-Kansai, Sapporo-Chitose, Tagbilaran, Taipei-Taoyuan, Tokyo-Narita, Ulaanbaatar, Zhangjiajie
Jin Air - Bangkok, Cebu, Clark, Da Nang, Fukuoka, Guam, Jeju, Naha, Nha Trang, Osaka-Kansai, Sapporo-Chitose, Seoul-Gimpo, Taipei-Taoyuan, Tokyo-Narita, Ulaanbaatar
Korean Air - Bangkok, Beijing-Capital, Da Nang, Fukuoka, Guam, Jeju, Nagoya-Centrair, Qingdao, Seoul-Gimpo, Seoul-Incheon, Shanghai-Pudong, Taipei-Taoyuan, Tokyo-Narita
T’way Air - Fukuoka, Nha Trang, Osaka-Kansai, Sapporo-Chitose, Seoul-Gimpo
Air China - Beijing-Capital
Capital Airlines - Huangshan
China Airlines - Taipei-Taoyuan
Vietnam Airlines - Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang
Unique Features or Challenges
Compact terminal, simplifying operations but potentially leading to jamsTwo runways, that can result in high throughput
Mountainous terrain that can provide picturesque scenes
Optional: Links, images, maps, or videos
Wikipedia - Gimhae International AirportRamp, with Korean Air shops visible in the background.
Korean Air(?) aircraft during the approach turn to Gimhae.
Gimhae approach diagram.
ATC tower.
