This year, the Lunar New Year holiday offers a basic 6-day break, and with a day off, it can extend to a maximum of 9 days, creating a 'golden holiday.' As a result, many citizens flocked to Incheon International Airport for overseas travel. Due to the news of record crowds, there was anxiety about possibly missing flights, prompting travelers to arrive 4 to 5 hours before their scheduled departures, but the check-in process was completed quickly, thanks to the airport mobilizing all available staff and equipment.
Passengers expressed dissatisfaction, saying, 'If this could have been done all along, why wasn't it done?' Since around late November of last year, the security checkpoints opened only about 30% of the time, even when passenger numbers surged in the morning, leading to waits of nearly 2 hours just to get through security and almost missing flights.
◇ With expanded security checkpoints, it took 1 minute to enter the boarding area and 1 minute for security screening
According to Incheon International Airport, an estimated total of 2.141 million people, or an average of 214,000 per day, will use the airport during this Lunar New Year holiday (January 24 to February 2). This marks an increase of 12.8% compared to last year’s holiday (an average of 189,815 per day) and is the largest since the airport opened. The day with the highest number of departing passengers is January 25 (123,000), while the peak day for arriving passengers is January 30 (121,000).
Incheon International Airport faced criticism since around November last year for excessively long check-in processes due to staff shortages and new security equipment malfunctions. On November 24, a traveler named Kim (46) waited 60 minutes to enter the boarding area and then queued for another 50 minutes in front of the security checkpoint. Despite arriving 2 hours and 45 minutes early, he barely made it to the gate 5 minutes before departure.
However, on January 25, the day with the highest number of departing passengers, there was little congestion at the Incheon International Airport departure area. Around 7:40 a.m., the queue in front of the second terminal's departure area was about 10 meters long, and passengers moved inside quickly. A representative from Incheon International Airport Corporation noted, 'At around 6:30 a.m., there was a line of about 50 meters, but it cleared up after about an hour.'
While Terminal 1 was busy, the wait was not excessively long. The terminal was crowded early in the morning around 5 a.m., as passengers arrived early for fear of missing their flights. However, by 6 a.m. when all boarding areas began operating, the congestion gradually eased. By around 8 a.m., there were about 200 to 300 passengers in line at each of the eight departure area entrances. The airport also opened special entrances for crew members and those with mobility issues, allowing passengers to enter the departure area in about 10 minutes.
Passengers using Incheon International Airport that day appeared bewildered. Ha Mo (31) arrived at the second terminal around 8 a.m. to board a flight to Kita-Kyushu, Japan, departing at noon. Check-in took just 10 minutes, and he lined up to enter the departure area at about 8:40 a.m. It took 1 minute to enter and another minute for security screening. The roughly 10 security checkpoints inside the departure area were mostly operational. Ha said, 'When I came last time, the security screening took quite a while, so I wonder why it can be processed so quickly now.'
Park (in his late 20s) arrived at Terminal 1 five hours early for a flight to London, due to depart at 12:25 p.m. Baek (33) also arrived at Terminal 1, 4 hours and 20 minutes early for a flight scheduled to Tokyo at 11:50 a.m. Both Park and Baek said it took about an hour to complete their check-in, but there wasn't the level of congestion they had expected.
◇ After completing departure procedures, a lack of restaurants in the airport... some sat on the floor due to a lack of chairs
Despite initial concerns during the holiday period, there appeared to be minimal congestion in the airport's departure area, thanks to measures prepared by Incheon International Airport Corporation. The corporation started airport operations 30 minutes earlier ahead of the holiday and expanded the number of security checkpoints. They also increased check-in support staff by 21% (117 personnel) compared to regular times.
However, there were complaints regarding the quality of service. Park, who flew to London, remarked, 'The friendliness of the staff has noticeably decreased compared to before.' Women had to follow new regulations by removing their tall ugg boots and placing them in small bins for security screening; when asked, 'Where should I put the removed boots?' a staff member reportedly grabbed the boots and threw them. Park commented, 'Overall, the attitude was quite blunt.'
Baek noted, 'I hurried to complete the departure processes as soon as I arrived at the airport for fear of missing the flight. When I tried to eat inside, there were so many similar people that there wasn't a single empty seat in the terminals,' adding, 'It took 30 minutes to enter the lounge in the airport.'
Passengers who arrived 4 to 5 hours earlier than their scheduled departure time had to wait inside the airport for 2 to 3 hours after completing their departure procedures. Due to a shortage of seats, some passengers were seen squatting on the floor.