Company won five-year contract for management, operation and safety of T4

KUWAIT: Kwang Soo Lee, Project Manager at Terminal 4, Kuwait International Airport, speaks to Kuwait Times. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat

KUWAIT: Kuwait Airways' new Terminal 4 (T4) launched operations recently. Incheon, a Korean-based airport firm, won a five-year contract for the management, operation and safety of Terminal 4, as mandated by the Kuwaiti aviation authority. Speaking to Kuwait Times, Kwang Soo Lee, Project Manager at Terminal 4, Kuwait International Airport said his company has been operating Incheon airport in Seoul, which has been voted and recognized as a premier airport for several years.

"We are very happy to be selected as your terminal operator for the next five years. We started operations in late August, and we are honored and proud that the Kuwaiti aviation authority selected us to operate Terminal 4," he said. "Usually operation starts after the full completion of construction and system integration, however, in T4 facilities, this was not the case. We faced many challenges in this regard, especially that our company did not construct the airport and systems, but day by day we are witnessing tangible improvements in general."

Incheon won the contract in May 2018, then was immediately told to begin operations a few months later. "We prepared for the opening as they told us they wanted T4 to be operational as soon as possible," Lee said. "We hired people from Incheon Airport - around 40 experienced security and management staff were selected to run T4 immediately. Without them, it would have been impossible to operate. Since we have knowledgeable people, we hired and trained more staff locally. Now we have around 500 personnel running T4," he said.

Passengers board their flight at the new Terminal 4.

T4 is small compared to Incheon airport, which has a capacity of 70 million passengers per year. "T4 in Kuwait is expected to receive 4.5 million passengers annually, so it is very small compared to Incheon. But lesser capacity means lesser stress from the management's side," Lee added.

On August 15, 2018, T4 started operations with four daily return flights to Dubai that eventually increased to eight flights a day. Flights to Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries started at T4 from September 30, 2018 with 30 flights per day. On October 10, 2018, flights to other Arab countries began, and flights to Europe were launched on October 21, 2018. By November, T4 will be fully operational with the launch of flights to Southeast Asian countries and the Indian Subcontinent.

"Kuwait Airways flights bound to New York will remain in Terminal 1 until further notice, since they have additional safety measures implemented on that route. We are not saying that we have lapses in security checks - we follow all airport safety standards. We would not be voted among the top airports in the world if we didn't, but they have a strict approval policy, and that's the key for us as well," he said.

According to Lee, comparing the facilities to Incheon airport or any other airport is not right, since those have their own uniqueness in terms of facilities. "Imagine 70 million passengers against 4.5 million passengers of T4. It cannot be compared. We are going to run the terminal until 2023. After 2023, we don't know if we will be chosen to operate the other terminal - it's the decision of the Kuwaiti aviation authority," he said.

Incheon started operations in Seoul with only 33 million passengers yearly - passenger numbers are now 70 million after 20 years. Lee said among 1,500 airports around the world, Incheon airport is ranked sixth, and was named Best Airport in the World for 12 consecutive years. The company also operates Irbil airport in Iraq. Incheon is also among the top consulting firms in Indonesia and the Philippines. Incheon has led changes and innovations with different services and passenger oriented operations and has proven itself as a 'world class airport' for many years.

By Ben Garcia