Daedo Capital International Airport

Daedo Capital International Airport (Seomun: 大都首都國際空港, Jinmun: 대도수도국제공항, : DCX, : ZEDC), formerly referred to as the Shin Daedo International Airport (Seomun: 新大都國際空港, Jinmun: 신대도국제공항) and alternately as the Daedo Daeseong International Airport (Seomun: 大都大聖國際空港, Jinmun: 대도대성국제공항), is the primary  of Daedo. Located in the southwestern edge of the Seoan-gu district of Daedo, it is situated about 42 kilometers southwest from the city's Sudo-gu district and 26 kilometres south of Shin Daedo, while the airport itself is built on reclaimed land between the mainland and Seongsu Island. Named after its significance as the main gateway of the capital city, it is the largest airport in Zhenia, as well as one of the busiest airports in the world.

Currently serving the metropolitan area around the nation's capital as well as parts of Chungmu Province, Daedo Capital International Airport was built to replace the overcrowded Jinpo International Airport in northwestern Daedo. Since its opening on May 1, 1587 AC, the two airports are set to operate in tandem as international hubs, although most commercial flights have relocated to the new airport upon its opening. After the opening of Daedo Capital International Airport, the pre-existing Jinpo Airport has since been hosting an array of domestic flights as well as international shuttle flights throughout major metropolitan centers in East Tarsis, including Bukit Singa and Tianjing. As the city's primary international hub, the airport has initiated a three-phase expansion plan to increase its capacity: Terminal 2, the second phase and most recent addition to the airport as of 1610 AC, has opened on April 1, 1608, while the third phase, which is set to include the construction of a third terminal east of the first two terminals and additional runways, is expected to be completed by 1620.

Today, Daedo Capital International Airport is the single largest and busiest airport in the nation, serving over 107 million passengers and processing over 1 million tonnes of cargo in 1609 AC alone. It ranks first among the nation's airports for international traffic, with over 46 million international passengers, including transfer passengers, using the airport in 2019. Its significance has also made it the and  for more airlines than any other airport in the nation, including it being the only primary hub for both Zhenian Airways and Air Zhenia. Along with Shin Jinhae International Airport, it is one of the two Zhenian airports offering direct flights to all six continents of the world as of 1610.

Initial construction


In the later half of the 16th century AC, Jinpo International Airport, located on the northwestern coasts of the city, began to reach its designed capacity limits, as Zhenian aviation demand, both domestic and international, skyrocketed. Being situated close to the relatively built-up Jinpo-gu district of Daedo and its runways directly facing the Gulf of Danguk, it had limited room for further expansion after its latest direct expansion was completed during the later days of the Third Republic. While it had become one of the busiest airports in Tarsis amid Zhenia's economic resurgence and increased ties with the international community, it was an old airport that was built in 1525 AC, while its passenger and cargo demands that well exceeded its designed capacity meant that it was plagued with frequent delays due to the lack of space for aircraft and gates. Its absurd 18R circling approach route, as well as various noise mitigation measures due to the existence of residential areas in Jinpo-gu, restricted nighttime flights and thus limiting the airport's potential.

Amid such circumstances, proposals to build a replacement to Jinpo International Airport surfaced well before the November Revolution, although actual preliminary studies regarding a new airport did not commence until 1570. Studies carried out by the Jungchuwon concluded that many of the problems that plagued Jinpo Airport at the time, including noise pollution, the restriction of nighttime flights and airport congestion, will not be solved unless a new airport with comparable accessibility for its users was built. Carried out in the early 1570s, the same studies also clarified the requirements of the new airport, including adequate distance from the congested urban areas of the city, multiple parallel runways that would allow for round-the-clock operation of multiple runways, often at the same time. With this in mind, the Daedo Metropolitan Government, in cooperation with the Daedo Capital Transport Authority, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Territories and Transportation, came to consider three possible candidates - one included a site that was around 65 kilometers north of Daedo's city center and in central Chungmu Province, near the midpoint between Daedo and Arisu; one included the construction of the airport in the Danbon Estuaries; a third proposal involved an airport built upon reclaimed land southwest of Daedo, around Seoan-gu district. The current site of Daedo Capital International Airport was decided as the winning proposal in 1573 AC, scoring higher than other proposals in terms of round-the-clock operation capability, minimization of environmental impact and of land reparation costs and its impact to the Shin Daedo New Town project that was underway in the city's western coast.



By the end of 1575, designs for the airport had been finalized, with the master plan including the construction of three terminals, three concourses and a total of seven runways. Plans for the airport were expected to be completed over four phases, with the airport adding concourses, terminals and runways in each phase according to projected aviation demand. The entire airport would be built on flattened and between Seongsu Island and the mainland component of Seoan-gu district: around 13.44 km2 of land was expected to be reclaimed directly from the Gulf, while a significant portion of the island itself was also expected to be flattened out to make room for the airport's expansion. Construction of the airport, which included not only the airport itself but also the accompanying access roads, rail, associated bridges, tunnels and airport new towns, commenced on September 28, 1576 AC.



The initial phase of the airport, which included Terminal 1 and two accompanying runways, opened on May 1, 1587.

Phase 1 expansion
Phases of the airport's expansions have been counted separately from the initial construction of the airport, which involved the completion of Terminal 1 and two accompanying runways. Thus, the Phase 1 expansion refers to the construction of the two concourses - known today as Concourses A and B - as well as the construction of a third runway adjacent to the first two, expansion of the cargo and MRO facilities.

Terminal 1
Terminal 1, also dubbed the South Terminal due to its relative location in the project, is the first and original terminal of the airport.

Terminal 2
Terminal 2, also known as the North Terminal in relation to Terminal 1 in the south, is a major component of the airport's expansion in response to increased demands.

Upon completion, the entirety of Terminal 2 has been allocated to SkyLeague airlines, mainly Zhenian Airways.

Rail
Daedo Capital International Airport is directly served by the Daedo Metro via Line 8, as well as both lines of the Daedo Airport Express, all of which link the airport directly to city center in varying speeds and fares.