Incheon airport aims at becoming Asian MRO hub

YEONGJONG ISLAND, Incheon — Incheon International Airport is moving beyond its traditional role as a passenger and cargo gateway, expanding into high-value aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services through a large-scale aircraft conversion and maintenance complex. The Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) said Thursday the construction of the airport's first tenant facility — a passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversion center within its High-Tech Aviation Complex — was completed late last year. It has since entered full-scale operations, marking a major milestone in Korea's effort to build a competitive domestic MRO industry. The global MRO market is projected to grow from approximately 171 trillion won ($120 billion) in 2025 to 224 trillion won by 2035, expanding at an average annual rate of 2.7 percent, according to data from the airport operator. Despite the industry's strategic importance for aviation safety, Korea has long relied on overseas providers because of its limited domestic maintenance ecosystem, high labor costs and substantial upfront investment r