Does Korea need more airports? Out of the country’s existing 15 airports, 11 have shown chronic losses due to a lack of demand. Nevertheless, the government has planned 10 new airports across the country, including one in Saemangeum, the 409-square-kilometer reclaimed land next to the West Sea. Building more airports is against common sense since most of the existing ones have run massive deficits.

Moreover, many of the planned airports' sites are important to birds, such as habitats for migratory birds. Most bird strikes to aircraft occur within a 13-kilometer radius of airports. Therefore, a wildlife hazard management plan needs to be established for the area within a 13km radius of airports, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a U.N. agency for........

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