Business Aircraft Operators Should Start Planning for 2018 Winter Games

Due to the anticipated high-demand on ground services during the 2018 Winter Games, Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc. recommends that general aviation operators attending this event should begin planning for parking, airport services and crew accommodation immediately. The Winter Games will be held at PyeongChang in the Republic of Korea February 9-25, 2018.

"While South Korea is normally a straight-forward and easy operating environment for business aviation–from the perspective of obtaining permits, airport slots and parking approvals–there will be a higher level of demand and more competition among operators during the 2018 Winter Games," explained Jaeseong Lim, Chief Executive Officer at UBjet Aviation, a Universal Aviation® Certified ground handler based in Seoul, South Korea.

The closest airport is Yangyang (RKNY), approximately a one hour drive to the Winter Games venues. However, general aviation will not be permitted to park at RKNY during the Winter Games period. Hotel availability will be another challenge as options and availability of major international hotels in the PyeongChang area will likely be very limited.

"Though the landing permit and slot process is standardized for all operations to South Korea, we expect that operators will experience delays in processing times or find lack of availability for slots as this event comes closer," said Sarah Kalmeta, Regional Director of Operations - APAC. "We recommend that operators avoid making changes to approved permits and airport slots to prevent issues with re-approval. Also, operators should be aware of the CIQ process and visa and passport needs. The best advice we can give is to begin the trip planning process now and have contingency plans ready."

The Universal Aviation® Certified program is designed to recognize and distinguish independent ground handlers around the world that meet the stringent standards of Universal Aviation for quality, training, safety, consistency, and compliance. These are ground handling partners with which we’ve had long-standing relationships—as preferred ground handlers of our parent company, Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc. And certification is only offered to those handlers who have proven that they share our absolute commitment to the success of our clients’ missions.