An award for Otis’ Incheon airport installation underscores how complex transport infrastructure is making vertical-transportation expertise a strategic capability.
Otis Worldwide Corporation has received recognition for its work at South Korea’s Incheon International Airport, where its project won in the Moving Walks category of Elevator World magazine’s annual Project of the Year awards. The honour centres on a major expansion of Terminal 2 and places Otis’ airport capabilities in focus as transport hubs pursue greater capacity alongside safe, accessible passenger movement. Between 2021 and 2024, Otis Elevator Korea installed 172 elevators, escalators and moving walks in the extended terminal.
The project formed part of Incheon’s expansion into a global air hub designed to handle the movement and transport of 106 million passengers annually. Otis said the installation required detailed planning around multiple construction elements and stakeholders, with teams coordinating work to meet complex schedules safely and efficiently. The scale and operating environment illustrate why airport projects depend not only on equipment, but also on installation management and communication across a large infrastructure programme.
The installation included moving walks measuring 125 metres, as well as two measuring 136 metres, which Otis described as Asia’s longest continuous moving walks. They use a synchronised dual-motor system, while the longest unit was assembled at the factory for inspection and quality checks before being dismantled and shipped to the airport. After installation, Otis Korea conducted six further rounds of quality testing, adding another layer of verification to a project serving a high-volume passenger environment.
The award also builds on a longer relationship between Otis and the airport. Since Incheon International Airport opened in 2001, Otis Korea has installed 650 elevators, escalators and moving walks across the site, according to the company. Otis says those systems provide rides for millions of airport visitors and support access for people of different ages and abilities, linking the equipment’s operational role with the broader passenger experience.
For Otis, the recognition places airport modernisation and new-equipment delivery together within a single infrastructure proposition. The company describes itself as a manufacturer, installer and servicer of elevators and escalators, with operations spanning more than 200 countries and territories. Incheon gives that positioning a concrete example: a project where engineering scale, testing discipline and coordination were central to delivering movement systems inside an expanding international gateway.
