SEOUL: A South Korean legislator said on Wednesday that South Korea has been forced to repeatedly shut down runways at the two major airports for Seoul since June due to disruption from balloons carrying trash sent by North Korea.
The MP said in a statement that on twenty different days since June 1st, all or some runways at Gimpo and Incheon airports were closed for takeoffs or landings, or both, when balloons were detected in the area.
North Korean side has launched over 5,500 balloons with bags of trash attached to them since late May, adding it was replying to balloons carrying propaganda contents flown by South Korea’s activists.
Some balloons are carried by wind have dropped in the South, including near the airport runways and presidential office. While many were removed by officials without incident, some have disrupted operations and caused small fires.
According to aviation authorities, on June 26, Incheon airport runways have been closed for a total of 166 minutes due to balloons.
On Monday, takeoffs as well as landings were also suspended at Incheon, the world’s fifth-busiest airport and an important cargo center, for a total of 90 minutes.
An airline official stated that the North Korean balloon drive had complicated operations. An aviation official said that the decisions to close runways were made each time a balloon is noticed, factoring in situations and not based on a specific distance they are from the airport.
