North Korean trash balloons shut down Seoul's airports 20 times since June

North Korea’s trash-laden balloons interrupted operations at Seoul-area airports 20 times this year. As of Monday, trash balloons had disrupted air traffic for a combined 413 minutes at Incheon International Airport and Gimpo International Airport.

Airplanes of Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are seen on runways of Incheon International Airport in February. [NEWS1]

North Korea’s trash-laden balloons interrupted operations at Seoul-area airports 20 times this year.

As of Monday, trash balloons from Pyongyang had disrupted air traffic for a combined 413 minutes at Incheon International Airport and Gimpo International Airport since the start of June, according to data submitted by the Seoul Regional Office of Aviation to Democratic Party Rep. Yang Bu-nam’s office on Wednesday.

Yang, who serves on the parliamentary committee for public administration and security, received the air traffic data from the office.

South Korea’s air traffic authorities halt runway operations when they identify or sight North Korean trash balloons close to airports as a safety measure.

The first disruption happened on June 1, when the North conducted its second balloon launch against the South. The aviation office closed Incheon International Airport’s tarmacs for 54 minutes from 10:48 p.m.

With the second balloon launch continuing overnight, the authority suspended takeoffs and landings at the airport for 37 minutes on the morning of June 2.

The North’s fifth balloon launch also prompted the South Korean air traffic office to halt runway operation at the Incheon International Airport for approximately eight minutes on the night of June 24.

The longest daily disruption at Incheon International Airport was 166 minutes on June 26. Runway operations were suspended eight times that day, with the first disruption occurring at around 1:46 a.m.

The first air travel disruption at Gimpo International Airport occurred on July 24. The airport experienced 58 minutes of runway suspensions in three separate incidents from 5:22 p.m.

The most recent disruptions happened on Monday. Takeoffs and landings at Incheon International Airport were intermittently suspended for around 90 minutes from 5:25 a.m.

Rep. Yang called for solutions to guarantee air travel safety, noting that the North’s trash balloons “continuously paralyzed airport operations” in the South. She added that the balloons burden South Korea with a “significant social and economic cost.”

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]