[4][5] This airport opened for business on 29 March 2001, to replace the older Gimpo International Airport, which now serves mostly domestic destinations and shuttle flights to several East Asian metropolitan areas, including Beijing–Capital, Kaohsiung, Osaka–Kansai, Shanghai–Hongqiao, Taipei–Songshan and Tokyo–Haneda.

[citation needed] On 15 November 2006, an Airbus A380 landed at the airport as part of the first leg of its certification trip.

[9] Tests on the runways, taxiways, and ramps showed that the airport is fully capable of handling A380.

To further upgrade service, Incheon and major Korean logistics firm Hanjin Group (parent company of Korean Air) agreed on 10 January 2008, to build Yeongjong Medical Centre, which was completed in 2012.

The airport is a hub for international civilian air transportation and cargo traffic in East Asia.

[citation needed] Phase 2 construction began in 2002, and was originally expected to be completed in December 2008.

However, in an attempt to have the airport ready for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which took place in August 2008, the schedule was modified, and Phase 2 construction was completed on 20 June 2008.

During this construction phase, a third parallel 4,000-metre-long (13,123 ft 4 in) runway and a 13-hectare (32.1-acre) cargo terminal area was added.

A 16.5-hectare (40.8-acre) concourse connected to the main passenger building via two parallel 870-metre-long (2,854 ft 4 in) underground passageways were added, with a Mitsubishi Crystal Mover shuttle train APM shuttling passengers between the concourse and the main terminal.

[11] Many long-distance foreign carriers were moved to the new concourse, with Korean Air and Asiana Airlines continuing to use the existing terminal.

[citation needed] The South Korean government invested ₩4 trillion until 2017 to expand Incheon International Airport.

Also, a Landside Connecting system (Bus shuttle) is used for airport employees and departing passengers who don't come to the right terminal.

Incheon's expansion also includes adding more aprons to park planes and extending a railway line to the city center of Seoul about 70 kilometres (43 mi) away from the airport.

The airport also signed an agreement to build a resort called "Inspire" which includes 6-star hotels, theme parks, and a casino.

There was an expansion of Terminal 2, the building of a fourth runway and additional apron and car parking facilities.

It is connected to Terminal 1 by two parallel 870-metre-long (2,850 ft) underground passageways equipped with IATs (Intra Airport Transit).

[23] This airport also has a golf course, spa,[24] private sleeping rooms, an ice skating rink, a casino, indoor gardens, a video game center and the Museum of Korean Culture.

^2 Korean Air's service between Busan and Incheon is available only to connecting passengers flying with the airline internationally.

^3 Korean Air's service between Daegu and Incheon is available only to connecting passengers flying with the airline internationally.

[205] On 16 June 2011, an Airbus A321-200, operating as Asiana Airlines flight 324 between Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport, China and Incheon International Airport, was fired upon by two soldiers of the Republic of Korea Marine Corps as it came in to land at Incheon.

A total of 99 rounds were discharged at the aircraft, which was out of range and made a safe landing without sustaining any damage.

The soldiers had misidentified the aircraft as belonging to the North Korean military and were acting on orders that permitted them to engage without reference to senior officers, following the Bombardment of Yeonpyeong in November 2010.

When the 3rd Yeonyukgyo Bridge opens in 2025, a general road connecting to the Gyeongin Expressway, Incheon Airport will be accessible by two-wheeled vehicles and on foot.

[233] Its duty-free shopping mall has been rated the world's best for three years in a row in 2013 by Business Traveller.