In July 2013,Kim Jong Un approved plans for a complete redesign of the airport,turning it into an international airport for civilian use. The new airport was designed by the Chinese architectural firm PLT Planning &Architecture. The redesign will include two 3,340-square-metre oval-shaped terminals,one serving domestic flights and one serving international flights,that will each contain six gates and several duty-free stores. The runways will also be extended to 3500 metres. It is expected to cost US$200 million.[3]
On 24 September 2015,the first commercial civilian flight landed at Wonsan Airport as a part of an aviation-related tour with thirty passengers.[citation needed] Photographs of the inaugural flight reveal a very much redesigned terminal building,doing away with the original dual-terminal circular layout. The new terminal has a single L-shaped building.
It is reported that the airport cost around $200 million to build,with most of the work being carried out by the military. In July 2015,the first major event,an aeronautics display and contest,took place at the airport.[4]
In September 2016 the Wonsan Air Festival took place for the first time,with the Korean People's Army Air Force and the North Korean airline Air Koryo displaying a number of their aircraft.[5][6][7] A second edition was planned for September 2017 but it was cancelled amidst international tensions.[8][9]
Asiana Airlines became the first foreign airline to operate to the newly reconstructed airport at Wonsan.[10] Air Koryo previously operated charter services from the original Wonsan Airport to South Korea prior to the end of the Sunshine policy.[citation needed]
In July 2018 a C-17 of the US Air Force's 204th Airlift Squadron collected 55 cases of human remains from Wonsan. It is thought that these are remains of US or other UN servicemen from the Korean War.[11] The C-17 then flew to Osan Air Base in South Korea.[12][13]
Infrastructure
Wonsan Airport has two runways. A new runway was constructed parallel to the existing main runway,which is 375 metres longer. The existing runway was converted into a taxiway. A new terminal opened in 2015 to allow the airport to serve commercial passenger flights. The new construction features 2 jetbridges and a newly designed apron that can accommodate 12 commercial aircraft at any one time.
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