Daegu International Airport

The airport chiefly serves domestic routes with a small number of international flights. Despite the growth of the nearby city of Daegu, passenger numbers at Daegu International Airport have been steadily declining since 2004, the year when KTX highspeed rail reached the city. The 2013 number of about 1.1 million passengers is around half of pre-2003 figures. Since 2014, passenger numbers have increased sharply due to the expansion of low-cost carriers. Because Daegu Airport is shared with the military, taking photographs or video of the apron, the runway or the military facility is strictly prohibited.

Daegu International Airport was originally established under Japanese rule as Taegu Airfield on 31 January 1937.

Korean War

At the outbreak of the Korean War, the airfield consisted of a dirt and gravel runway and two concrete buildings. The airfield was designated by the USAF as K-2.

The airfield was used as part of the Bout One project, an emergency program to train Republic of Korea Air Force pilots to fly the P-51 Mustang. The Bout One planes provided close air support to the U.S. 24th Infantry Division through July 1950. On 10 July 1950, the Bout One force was re-designated as the 51st Fighter Squadron, and was merged into the 12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 4 August.

The existing dirt and gravel runway was improved by the 822nd Engineer Aviation Battalion beginning on 18 July, and the Battalion subsequently began preparations for a parallel 5,000 foot (1,500 m) PSP (perforated steel planks) runway on 7 August.

USAF units based at Taegu from July-August 1950 included:

• 18th Fighter-Bomber Group, from July-August 1950, subordinate units included:
  • 12th Fighter-Bomber Squadron operating F-51 from 15 July 1950
• 51st Fighter Squadron (Provisional) from 10 July-August 4, 1950
• 6002nd Air Base Squadron from July-8 August 1950
• 6147th Tactical Control Squadron (Airborne) operating T-6 Mosquitos from 1 August-September 6, 1950
• 6149th Air Base Unit from August 1950

Taegu Airfield was abandoned following the North Korean attack on Taegu in mid-August 1950, but USAF units began reoccupying the base by 23 September 1950. The 822nd Battalion had returned to Taegu on 17 September and soon resurfaced the original dirt and gravel runway with PSP and extended its length to 5,700 feet (1,700 m).

USAF units based at Taegu from September 1950 included:

• 49th Fighter-Bomber Group operating F-80s from 1 October 1950. This was the first jet unit to be based in Korea. Subordinate units included:
  • 7th Fighter-Bomber Squadron from 28 September
  • 8th Fighter-Bomber Squadron from 29 September
  • 9th Fighter-Bomber Squadron from 29 September
• 543rd Tactical Support Group from 26 September, subordinate units included:
  • 8th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Photo-Jet operating RF-80s from 2 October
  • 162nd Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Night Photo from 8 October
  • 363rd Reconnaissance Technical Squadron from 4 October

In May 1951, the 930th Engineer Aviation Group began repair work on the PSP runway and commenced construction of a 9,000 feet (2,700 m) concrete runway.

Postwar

Daegu Airport consists of 2 separate terminals: Domestic Terminal and International Terminal. The relatively small passenger terminal (International Terminal) boasts a comfortable environment through its adoption of traditional design elements symbolizing Ouga (The song of five friends: water, rock, pine, bamboo, and moon; by Yun Son-Do), and its crane-like structure. The parking lot can accommodate about 1,097 cars and has a fully automated parking system; it is open from 6 am to 10 pm.

^1Korean Air's service between Daegu and Incheon is available only to passengers flying internationally to/from South Korea with Korean Air

Traffic by calendar year

The airport is 1.34 km from Ayanggyo Station (Daegu Subway Line 1) and can be reached by bus or taxi.

• On 13 June 1991, Korean Air Flight 376 (HL7350), a Boeing 727 operating a domestic flight from Jeju to Daegu, performed an unexpected gear-up landing at Daegu. The crew failed to read out the landing procedure checklist and therefore did not select the gear down option. Subsequent investigation revealed that the pilot instructed the co-pilot to pull the fuse case from the warning system because the repeated warnings that the landing gear was not deployed were "irritating and distracting". With the warning horn disabled, the South Korean pilot brought the plane in and slid down the length of the runway on the central structural rib in the belly of the aircraft. There were no serious injuries but the aircraft was written off. The police applied for an arrest warrant for the captain and the -captain, but controversy arose as the prosecutor rejected the application and investigated it without physical detention, but Joo Ho-young, a judge who later became a member of the National Assembly, said in a trial ruling held in January of the following year, "The heavy responsibility of punishment under the criminal law is inevitable that defendants who are tasked with safe transportation of passengers did not follow basic air operation rules and caused an accident that could kill all 120 passengers." Captain Lee In-sung was sentenced to October in prison, and First Officer Kim Sung-joong and Flight Engineer Park Il-sung were sentenced to August in prison, and they were arrested in court. The gear-up landing blew up the lower part of the aircraft, ultimately rendering it inoperable, and on July 27, 1992, Korean Air donated the aircraft for practical use to Inha Technical University, a member of the same Hanjin Group, after disassembling the remaining aircraft at Daegu International Airport in August 1991. After the farewell event on June 16, 2023, another aircraft was replaced and after the dismantling, the HL7350 head went to KidZania Hanoi in Westlake Hanoi, Lotte Mall, Hanoi, Vietnam, to be painted with Vietnam Airlines as a decoration.
• On 26 May 2023, a male passenger opened an emergency exit as Asiana Airlines Flight 8124, an Airbus A321-200 (HL8256) was on approach to Daegu International Airport on a flight from Jeju International Airport, just a few minutes before landing. The emergency slide deployed and was ripped off. The aircraft landed safely, but at least six people were injured and taken to hospital. The man was arrested by authorities