Seoul Gimpo Intl Airport (GMP) Flights & Flight Status

Gimpo Airport (GMP) is the largest domestic airport in South Korea. Along with Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN), it’s one of two airports serving Seoul, South Korea’s capital. In addition to being a hub for South Korea’s two major airlines (Korean Air and Asiana), the airport sees dozens of flights per day from a whole host of low-cost carriers. Here’s how to navigate GMP on your next trip to South Korea, whether you use it to fly domestically within Korea, or arrive here on an international flight.

How to get to and from GMP and Seoul?

Various rail, road and bus connections link Gimpo Airport with central Seoul. For most travelers, the train ends up being the most convenient option, though there are exceptions to this rule.

The Airport Express Railway, colloquially known as AREX, connects Gimpo Airport with Seoul Station. From here you can connect to KTX high-speed trains, which can link you to destinations throughout South Korea, as well as local Korail lines to suburban and Lines 1 and 4 of the Seoul Subway to connect to destinations within Seoul proper.

In contrast to the more distant Incheon Airport, Gimpo Airport is affordably accessible via rideshare, both Uber, and the local Korean Kakao app. Using this option, your journey time to central Seoul destinations like Myeongdong and Bukchon Hanok Village should be less than 30 minutes, with a fare of around 35,000 Korean won.

As is the case at Incheon Airport, you can ride both the direct Limousine Bus and local city bus from Gimpo Airport to central Seoul. In my experience, this is not an optimal option. If you’re on a budget, it’s just as fast to ride the train to Seoul Station and go the rest of the way by subway. If money is not an issue, it’s better to go via taxi or rideshare, since you’re vulnerable to traffic congestion regardless.

As a general rule, I only use a taxi or rideshare to Gimpo Airport if I’m traveling extremely early in the morning or extremely late at night, or if I have a large bag I feel I won’t be able to carry on the AREX train easily. Alternatively, if you’re staying at a hotel close to the airport, a complimentary airport shuttle may be available.

Navigating security lines at Gimpo Airport

As is the case at many airports throughout Asia, Gimpo Airport offers only limited expedited security options. In my experience, however, the security screening experience for ordinary passengers is efficient and respectful enough that you won’t miss your TSA Precheck.

While there’s no way to get through security quicker due to special opt-in programs, you may be able to access a shorter security line. Namely, this is available for travelers who have physical disabilities, who are pregnant or who are traveling with infants, as well as people traveling on the same itineraries as them.

If you’re flying to one of Gimpo Airport’s limited international destinations, which include Tokyo-Haneda (HND), Taipei-Songshan (TSA) and Shanghai-Hongqiao (SHA), note that you will need to pass through a different security screening from domestic passengers. Additionally, you will need to clear passport control after you’ve completed security checks.

If you’re flying to international destinations besides these ones, it is almost certain that you’ll be departing from Seoul’s other airport Incheon, code ICN. I’ll explain how to travel between GMP and ICN in just a few paragraphs.

Airline lounges and alternatives at GMP

Various lounge options exist at Gimpo, depending upon whether you’re flying domestically or internationally. However, these options are not as extensive as what you find at Incheon Airport, which decreases the value proposition of arriving more than an hour or two before your flight.

If you’re flying domestically from Gimpo Airport, you have two lounge options: Korean Air’s KAL Lounge and the Asiana Lounge. These lounges are available to domestic business class passengers on each respective airline, as well as elite flyers with both Korean Air and Asiana, and their SkyTeam and Star Alliance partners, respectively.

If you’re flying internationally from Gimpo Airport to destinations like Tokyo, Shanghai and Taipei, you can access the Sky Hub Lounge within the international terminal. In addition to business class passengers and elite flyers with the airlines that fly internationally from GMP, travelers who hold a Priority Pass credential can enter this lounge free of charge.

As a general rule, I don’t arrive at Gimpo Airport very early, at least not if I’m flying domestically. Due to short boarding times (15-30 minutes in advance, depending upon the airline), Koreans consider domestic flights more or less like buses. As a result, domestic lounges are not especially impressive, which is something I can also say for domestic business class within Korea.

Luggage storage at GMP

Gimpo Airport is home to a luggage storage facility, though in my opinion it has limited utility. That’s because most travelers who arrive at this airport are ultimately headed into the city, although this is not the case. The luggage facility is located on the first floor and costs anywhere between 5,000-20,000 won per bag, per day for storage.

If you’re arriving at GMP but plan to fly from ICN airport within a matter of days, you can “forward” your luggage by visiting the T-Luggage service available within the airport’s subway station. Do verify how long the forwarding will take, however. It’s quick, but usually requires at least a full business day.

Transfers at GMP

As South Korea’s main domestic airport, Gimpo Airport serves as a connection hub, in addition to a departure and arrival terminal for passengers bound for and originating in Seoul. However, if your travel plans don’t involve Seoul, I recommend booking a nonstop flight between outlying airports in Korea, even if doing so costs more than a connection via GMP.

Conveniently, all domestic departures leave from Terminal 1. As a result, in the event that you need to make a domestic connection (for example, flying from Jeju to Gimpo, and then from Gimpo to Daegu), you can usually walk from one gate to another.

This is not always the case, however. Namely, if you are connecting between a full service carrier (like Korean Air or Asiana) and a low-cost carrier such as t’way and Air Busan, it’s possible that airport staff will require you to pass through a secondary security check. Thankfully, this is almost always a quick and painless experience.

Do note that if you need to connect international-to-domestic or domestic-to-international, things get slightly more complicated. Namely, you will need to transfer between the domestic and international terminals (Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, respectively) which are separated by a 5-10 minute bus ride. If you’re in a rush you can take a taxi, Uber or Kakao car, but I find that free shuttle buses are usually sufficient.

If you’re connecting from a domestic flight to an international one, you will need to pass through a security screening, and passport control to exit Korea.

Connecting to a domestic flight after arriving internationally, meanwhile, you’ll need to clear security after clearing immigration and customs and changing terminals. Entering Korea can take between 30-90 minutes, depending upon how many flights arrive before yours, and how well-staffed the immigration and customs booths are.

As a general rule, I like to leave at least an hour for domestic-to-domestic transfers, and double that if you’re transiting domestic-to-international or international-to-domestic. You simply never know when you’re going to run into an unexpected delay, in spite of how efficient South Korea’s airports are.

Transiting between ICN and GMP

Given how limited the number of international flights at Gimpo Airport is, it’s much more likely that a domestic-to-international or international-to-domestic transfer will involve Incheon Airport (ICN).

Getting between these two airports is simple. The Airport Express (AREX) train connects Gimpo Airport with Incheon Airport Terminal 1 in about 40 minutes. Do note that if you’re flying from ICN Terminal 2 (in other words, if you’re flying on Korean Air, or SkyTeam partner airlines like Delta and Air France), you’ll need to take a separate train or bus to that terminal.

It’s also possible to travel between Gimpo and Incheon via bus, taxi or rideshare, though I usually don’t recommend this. All these modes of transport are vulnerable to traffic, which is less than optional when connecting between two flights.

As is the case when connecting solely within Gimpo Airport, domestic-to-international connections between Gimpo and Incheon require both a security check and passport control. When combined with the one-hour transit time between these airports, this means you need a minimum of three hours for such connections.

If you’re connecting international-to-domestic, you usually need to transfer from Incheon to Gimpo, though this is not always the case. Namely, Korean Air operates very limited “feeder” flights from Incheon to Busan (PUS) and Jeju (CJU) airports. These are only bookable in conjunction with international flights; you’ll know in advance if you’re on one of them.