Not that coming away from the ceremony in Abu Dhabi, conducted by the International Air Transport Association and Airport Council International, laden with accolades was entirely unexpected. Despite getting off to a controversial start in 2001, facing up to the effects of 9/11, the Iraq War, SARS, Korea’s economic woes and spiralling oil prices, Incheon has always punched above its weight.

Classified as a mid-size gateway with a passenger volume of less than 25 million a year until recently upgraded, Incheon (IIAC) was nevertheless ranked fourth in the world in its first year, sixth in 2002, fourth again in 2003 and second in 2004.

Says IIAC president and CEO Jaehee Lee: "Receiving top honours so close to Incheon International’s fifth anniversary is a truly meaningful event, and is the culmination of efforts not just by IIAC but also everyone in our airport’s operations."

By which he means Korea’s Ministry of Construction and Transportation, various government agencies and the airlines, who have worked together to improve service levels beyond recognition; earn the airport the status of being the only one in Asia to achieve Category IIIb –allowing aircraft to take off safely and land in the poorest of visibility –and make a profit.

To consolidate its position and attract more carriers, the airport halved landing fees for newcomers and those establishing new routes in 2004. Aiming thus to secure a further 20 airlines and 77 destinations by 2010, in the past two years it has seen the former rise from 51 to 59, and the latter from 119 in 39 countries to 140 in over 40.

There are also major plans for further development, with 40 facilities under construction,
the next stage alone costing US$4.8 billion.

The project began with the levelling of the ground for the concourse apron, which will be followed by a third runway, an unmanned intra-airport transport system, and a second International Business Centre with hotels and leisure amenities, while work on the steel framework for a new passenger terminal is due to begin this year.

Meanwhile, the recent opening of a free trade zone in the cargo terminal area is expected to boost Seoul’s position as one of the leading transport hubs in the region.

Incheon is also pioneering a system for revamping immigration and customs, including advance notification of passenger information, exempting Korean passengers from filling out forms. And an advanced biometric passport, containing fingerprints and other physical characteristics, allowing airport scanners and face-recognition cameras to verify identity, is also in the pipeline, enhancing security and speeding passenger throughput.

Based on figures released for January, this will be a facility worth its salt: more than 78,000 passengers a day were processed, which equates to around 28 million a year, a theoretical increase of 8.4% over 2005.