![An aerial view of Sagot Beach in Baengnyeong-myeon, Ongjin-gun, Incheon, the planned site of Baengnyeong Airport. [Incheon City]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/07/23/news-p.v1.20260723.f23504c07d84410a865cc3b32585ee3d_P1.jpg)
The opening of Baengnyeong Airport is expected to be delayed by at least four to five years, pushing the target date from 2029 to 2033 or 2034.
The setback stems from a cascade of administrative procedures triggered by an expansion of the project's scope, including a new feasibility re-examination and a supplementary strategic environmental impact assessment.
According to documents submitted to Democratic Party lawmaker Heo Jong-sik (Incheon Dong-gu and Michuhol-gu A) by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, a feasibility re-examination of the Baengnyeong Airport construction project — launched last November — is expected to conclude in the second half of this year.
Factoring in the time needed for a supplementary strategic environmental impact assessment, a full environmental impact assessment and the construction period itself, the airport is now likely to be completed in 2033 or 2034. It is the first time the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has provided a specific projected opening date for Baengnyeong Airport.
The airport was incorporated into the Fifth Long-Term Airport Development Master Plan in 2016 and subsequently cleared preliminary feasibility reviews. When the basic plan and strategic environmental impact assessment services were launched in 2023, a 2029 opening was set as the target.
That timeline unraveled after the government drew up an "island small-airport facility improvement plan" in 2023, significantly expanding the project's scope.
The seating capacity for small air transport aircraft was raised from 50 to 80, and runway facilities were enlarged, causing the airport site to grow from 254,000 square meters to 821,000 square meters.
As a result, the total project cost rose roughly 94 percent, from 201.8 billion won ($136 million) to 391.3 billion won. The Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Korea Development Institute (KDI) are now conducting a new feasibility re-examination.
KDI held two review meetings this year, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport expects the re-examination results to be released in the second half of this year.
Work on the basic plan and the strategic environmental impact assessment has been suspended while the feasibility re-examination is under way.
Once the re-examination is complete, those services will resume, with a supplementary strategic environmental impact assessment expected to take about 13 months.
Even if the process proceeds on schedule, the basic plan is not expected to be officially announced until early 2028. An environmental impact assessment would then follow for one to two years, putting the construction start at 2029 or 2030.
Given that building an airport on an island typically takes four to five years, analysts say an opening in 2033 or 2034 is the most likely outcome.
The delay is also expected to affect Incheon's planned development of the hinterland surrounding the airport site.
Incheon had planned to invest 47.7 billion won in a roughly 700,000-square-meter site near the airport to develop tourism, recreation, leisure, logistics and sixth-industry facilities between 2024 and 2030.
Should the airport's completion be pushed back, the timeline and schedule for that development project will almost certainly need to be revised.
The biggest variable in the project's progress is bird-strike prevention. During the strategic environmental impact assessment consultation, relevant government agencies called for a more rigorous assessment of bird-strike risks, citing Baengnyeong Island's status as a migratory bird habitat.
Additional work is needed, including the creation of alternative habitats, four-season bird surveys and a detailed analysis of aircraft-bird collision risks.
"Establishing a thorough bird-strike safety plan has become the central challenge for this project," Heo said. "The government and Incheon City need to work closely together to keep administrative procedures on track, and should actively consider various ways to shorten the construction period — including a turnkey approach that runs design and construction simultaneously."
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
