Commercial Vacancies Rise at Smaller Korean Airports Amidst Hub Growth

Commercial facility occupancy rates have diverged significantly across Korean airports, with major hubs like Gimpo, Gimhae, and Jeju showing growth while smaller airports face a downturn.

Data from the Korea Airports Corporation reveals that major airports operated at 98.71% occupancy in 2025, up from 94.12% in 2023. In contrast, 11 smaller airports saw their occupancy rate drop from 96.61% to 92% over the same period. The number of commercial facilities in these smaller airports also decreased by 43, from 118 to 75.

The decline in smaller airports is largely attributed to insufficient passenger demand. While major airports handle between 10 to 30 million passengers annually, many smaller airports, excluding Cheongju, Daegu, and Gwangju, struggle to attract even 1 million passengers. Yangyang Airport, for instance, saw its passenger numbers plummet from 160,000 to 60,000, leading to the closure of its duty-free shop.

To address this disparity, experts propose a strategy similar to that employed by Spain's airport group, Aena. Aena bundled 21 airports across Spain into six regional bidding zones in 2023, allowing operators to make long-term capital investments across a portfolio of airports. This approach aims to maximize competition and secure optimal proposals by considering market structure, geographical distribution, and individual unit attractiveness.

"This type of bidding has been widely used in commercial tenders for decades," said Ángel Sanz, Aena's Head of Strategy and Public Policy. "Grouping commercial tenders is temporarily designed based on various purely commercial considerations such as market structure, geographical distribution, the attractiveness of each unit, and the requirements for providing the best service to maximize competition and secure the best proposals from bidders."

However, the Korea Airports Corporation faces challenges in reintroducing such a bundled bidding system. A previous attempt resulted in a lack of successful bids and complaints about reduced profitability. The corporation is now reviewing the feasibility of adopting Aena's integrated bidding system again.

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This type of bidding has been widely used in commercial tenders for decades. Grouping commercial tenders is temporarily designed based on various purely commercial considerations such as market structure, geographical distribution, the attractiveness of each unit, and the requirements for providing the best service to maximize competition and secure the best proposals from bidders.