Editing Incheon International Airport (section)

==History==
[[File:Yeongjong location.svg|thumb|left|Location of Incheon International Airport on reclaimed land joining [[Yeongjong]] and Yongyu Islands]]

International air traffic to South Korea increased after the [[1988 Summer Olympics]]. In the 1990s, it became apparent that [[Gimpo International Airport]] could not cope with the increased air traffic. The government decided to build a new international airport to reduce the load on Gimpo International Airport.

The new airport was originally planned to be located in [[Cheongju]], {{Cvt|124|km}} southeast of Seoul, but due to its distance, it was opposed by Seoul and Gyeonggi citizens. {{Citation needed|date=October 2016}} [[Hwaseong, Gyeonggi|Hwaseong]], the other choice, was also rejected due to similar reasons. Finally, the area chosen was [[Incheon]]. {{When|date=October 2016}}

In November 1992, the construction of the Incheon airport began on reclaimed land between Yeongjong Island and Youngyu Island. It took eight years to finish, with an additional six months for testing. Completion was initially scheduled for 1997 but delayed due to [[1997 Asian financial crisis|the Asian economic crisis]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.airport.kr/co_cnt/en/intro/mileston/histor/histor.do|title=Incheon|access-date=22 May 2019|archive-date=22 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922084920/https://www.airport.kr/co_cnt/en/intro/mileston/histor/histor.do|url-status=live}}</ref> The airport was officially opened on 21 March 2001.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}}

On 15 November 2006, an [[Airbus A380]] landed at the airport as part of the first leg of its certification trip.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/10/19/a380.timeline/|title=The long journey to delivery|access-date=22 May 2019|archive-date=22 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922084919/http://edition.cnn.com/2007/BUSINESS/10/19/a380.timeline/|url-status=live}}</ref> Tests on the runways, taxiways, and ramps showed that the airport is fully capable of handling the A380.

To further upgrade service, Incheon and major Korean logistics firm [[Hanjin|Hanjin Group]] (parent company of [[Korean Air]]) agreed on 10 January 2008, to build Yeongjong Medical Centre, which was completed in 2012. This hospital serves nearby residents and some 30,000 [[medical tourism|medical tourists]] who come to Korea annually.<ref name="autogenerated1">http://medical.incheon.go.kr/open_content/medical.do?act=medicaldetail&lang=en&medicalno=52&medicaldiv=01 {{dead link|date=November 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>