The Flyer 1, invented and built by the Wright brothers as the world’s first known successful aircraft, took off in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903. It was in 1592, some 300 years ago, that Korea succeeded in flying a vehicle it developed with its own technology. The Korean civil aviation history started with Korea’s first air carrier, Korea National Airlines’ making a maiden flight between Seoul and Busan in 1948, so Korea’s emergence in aviation was made a half century ago.
This is the reason the Korean aviation industry has made unprecedented, tremendous strides in the world despite its short history. Korea, which transported 8 million passengers in 1985 some 30 years ago, has grown exponentially to become the 8th-biggest aviation power. In particular, despite external and internal difficulties, including the delayed recovery of the global economy, sluggish domestic demand and the disaster, caused by the sinking of the Sewol ferry, the nation achieved a record high last year: surpassing 80 million air passengers, 14 million foreign tourists and 3.69 million tons of air cargo for the first time ever, demonstrating the Korean aviation industry’s capability and potential for future growth. In the Korean aviation transportation industry, national low-cost carriers occupied more than half of the domestic market in 2014 thanks of the implementation of aggressive steps to ensure the safety of national low-cost flights and ramp up their competitiveness.
Despite the charming performances, the Korean aviation industry is faced with new challenges to be tackled. The industry not just transports people and materials, but has also emerged as a value-added industry that leads growth and job creation of such related industries as services and tourism. Such advanced countries as those in Europe and the United States see their respective sophisticated aviation industry’s growth come to a stall, whereas Asian countries, which only relatively recently entered a full-fledged growth stage, are scrambling competitively to grab the hegemony of the aviation industry. Public expectations are mounting over safer and more convenient flight services following a rise in flight passengers.
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MOLIT Deputy Minister Suh participates in a meeting with representatives of the Korean aviation industry to discuss the development of the industry.
This year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) is redoubling efforts to help the aviation industry reinvigorate the vitality of the national economy and make flights safe and convenient by coping actively with external and internal environmental changes.
The government is ramping up the competitiveness of the aviation industry by creating new flight demand linked with the tourism to make the industry a driving force behind the vitality of the national economy. It is also encouraging the expansion of investments in the aircraft manufacturing and maintenance industries, emerging as new growth engines.
In particular, the nation is developing an integrated system of operating unmanned aerial vehicles to lead the pilotless drone vehicle aircraft market, which shows signs of worldwide growth. We plan to implement a pilot project to use unmanned aerial vehicles. The government will expand runways for leisure aircraft to boost the leisure aircraft industry to cope with a rise in leisure demand, secure aircraft leisure infrastructure by establishing a master plan for the construction of the so-called Sky Park, an aircraft leisure center in Saemangeum, and continue to implement experience event programs, including aircraft leisure sport competitions.
We keep on ramping up the competitiveness of airports.
In keeping with a scheme to nurture Incheon International Airport as a hub airport for Northeast Asia, Incheon International Airport has been establishing itself as an airport with a global competitive edge, as it has risen to rank second in terms of international cargo and eighth in terms of flight passengers. It has also won the annual Airport Service Quality Award for the 10 years in a row. Incheon International Airport implements such steps to enhance a competitive edge in transfer capabilities as the overhauling of airport utilization fees favoring transfer passengers and the building of facilities to optimize transfers to brace for deepening competition surrounding the construction of a 2nd Beijing International Airport and the expanding of international passenger handling of Haneda Airport International Passenger Terminal.
The government also strives to beef up efforts to reinvigorate regional airports. Thanks to such steps as the expanding of no-visa transfer airports and the rising of international routes to and from China, regional airports saw passengers surge an average of 7 percent on the domestic routes and a whopping 12.8 percent on international routes for the past three years. Encouraged by regional airports’ high growth, the government plans to take such steps to induce airlines to inaugurate international flights from regional airports by expanding a reduction in airport utilization fees while actively providing support to facilitate basic services such as ground handling and regular maintenance.
We’re striving to shift the aviation policy paradigm from aviation policies with a focus on airliners and airports to passenger-oriented ones by drastically revamping policies focusing on people.
A team specializing in the protection of consumers and a dispute arbitration committee will be launched to compensate any damage consumers experience when it comes to flight delays and cancelations. Guidelines on the protection of consumers will be newly established. We plan to strengthen the protection of consumers by establishing ways of securing financial resources to compensate for damages. In an effort to secure the safety of flights and reinforce the surveillance of airliners to protect consumers, the government plans to order airliners to improve operations (depending on the financial situation and accident rates) and establish step-by-step exit regimes.
The so-called 3D Printing Administration, a new concept of recommending, producing and announcing policies on the part of clients, will be adopted to make policies consumer-oriented from a stage of policy-making.
The government strives to take precaution measures to promote safety management so that people can feel comfortable whenever utilizing aircraft transportation means and take field-oriented safety measures by implementing safety management regimes tailored to ensure safety in vulnerable areas.
Clement Ader, a pioneer in aviation, left behind the message “Those who conquer the skies will control the world.” To Korea, surrounded by the seas on three sides, Ader’s message’s takes on significance since aviation is not only a means of connecting with foreign countries, but also mounting expectations over a new growth engine. We expect that the MOLIT’s efforts to create the future of the aviation industry along with people be successful.
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Incheon International Airport the goverment strives to nurture as a hub airport for Northeast Asia.
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