By Justin Lee (Singapore)
Established in 1980 in South Korea to carry out construction, management and operation of airports and to manage air transportation efficiently, Korea Airports Corporation currently manages and operates total of 14 airports in Korea including Gimpo, Gimhae, Jeju, Daegu, Muan, Cheongju, and Yangyang Airports. The state-owned entity also manages the Area Control Center, 10 VORTACs and Korea Civil Aviation Training Center.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Fully-owned by the government of South Korea, Korea Airports Corporation has also set up three subsidiaries (KAC Airport Service Co., Ltd., Aviation Security Partners Co., Ltd., as well as Nambu Airport Service Co., Ltd.) to oversee the operations of airports, facility management, and security management.
Korea Airports Corporation has faced tremendous challenges in both operational and financial terms due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Total passenger traffic at Korea Airport Corporation’s 14 airports fell by 38.8% year-on-year to 52.9 million in 2020 while gross sales fell by 40.2% year-on-year to KRW580.4bn. In 2020, the airport operator also made a net loss before corporate tax of KRW148.7bn compared to the net profit before tax of KRW18.8bn it generated in 2019.
Source: Korea Airports Corporation2021 Sustainability Report 2021
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