Gimpo International Airport Reviews
Initially it was established during the Korean War in 1950, wherein the airfield was known as Kimpo Air Base or K-14 by USAF. After the war in 1958, the airfield was designated as the international airport of South Korea.

Gimpo is the capital city of South Korea, though GMP is located south of the Han River in western Seoul. The name “Gimpo” originated from the nearby city of Gimpo, of which the airport used to be a part.

In this review we’ll be looking more into Gimpo International Airport (GMP).

Aesthetics

As the heart of air transport in South Korea, Gimpo International Airport has several facilities found throughout.

Travellers had mentioned that GMP’s restrooms are spacious and clean. However, there are no shower rooms at the airport. Information centers are located on the first floor of both terminals of Gimpo International Airport, which consists of flight and tourist help desks. Though, both terminals (first and second floor) have touch-screen information kiosks apart from the help desks.

The Korea’s first and largest lifestyle shopping complex called Lotte Mall is found at the airport.  It has 5 basement floors and 9 above-ground stories built on a large 195,000㎡ field. The complex is surrounded by a natural ecological park named ‘Sky Park.’ On the top of the complex is an observatory from which people can see airplanes landing or taking off at the Gimpo Airport.

Travellers have mentioned that there are not much food establishments at Gimpo International Airport compared to ICN.

The airport is not operational for 24 hours, so it’s expected that there are no 24-hour food concessions available at Gimpo International Airport. Please be aware that there are no restaurants or decent food (or coffee) past the security checkpoint.

Gimpo International Airport is only open from 6am to 12mn (Gate opens at 6:40). Travellers are not allowed to stay overnight. Security will be asking everyone to leave the airport. Though, several hotels are located near the airport such as Lotte City Hotel (5 minutes from the airport), Mayfield Hotel (5 minutes from the airport) and Hotel Nostalgia (5 minutes from the airport). Lotte City and Mayfield have free shuttles, but Hotel Nostalgia doesn’t have an airport shuttle.

Directions

As mentioned earlier, Lotte Mall with subway lines 5 and 9, and Airport Railroad (AREX) connected to the mall by an underground walkway, are some ways to get to the airport by public transportation.

From the airport. taxi stands are located across the road from Gate 6 and 8 while the bus stations are located outside the domestic terminal.

Here’s a more guided driving route:

Location – Traffic – Service

Gimpo International Airport is located in the far western end of Seoul, some 15 km (9 mi) west of the Central District of Seoul. Gimpo was the main international airport for Seoul and South Korea before being replaced by Incheon International Airport in 2001. GMP serves as the hub for Korean Air and Asiana Airlines with two passenger and cargo terminals both serving domestic and international routes. The airport has 2 runways which had already accommodated a total of 23,163,778 in 2015 it had been recognized as the Top 42nd airport in the World in 2016 according to Skytrax’s World Airport Awards.

Airport/Terminal Map

Gimpo International Airport Reviews and News

Checking on Skytrax, the airport had garnered an average score of 5/10 based on 8 Gimpo International Airport reviews. One reviewer said “If you are a foreigner, be patient with the local security. They are very polite despite their English knowledge is not the best.”

Another reviewer said “Small, simple and with free wifi. Great for short domestic hops around South Korea.”
Contact Information:

• Airport Code:         GMP
• Phone Number:     +82 1661-2626
• Website URL:         http://www.airport.co.kr/ or http://www.airport.co.kr/wwweng/main.do
• Address:                112 Haneul-gil, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea

Overview

Gimpo International Airport might not be the main international airport of South Korea, but it had obviously kept on providing air transport services in large numbers. We all know that Incheon International Airport had been great in maintaining the second spot in the World’s Top 100 Airports. They didn’t consider this as a competition but a motivation to be better. They are just in one country and unity is their main goal to accommodate more tourists to their country. Kudos to Korean hospitality.

Feel free to leave a comment below.

The post Gimpo International Airport Reviews appeared first on The Flight Reviews.