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🇰🇷 South Korea /Energy & Infrastructure

Incheon Airport to be busiest on Aug. 2 during summer holiday rush; Gimpo on Aug. 6

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Context piece
  • South Korea's airports anticipate peak travel during the summer vacation period, with Incheon International Airport expecting the busiest day on August 2nd and Gimpo Airport on August 6th.
  • A total of 3.77 million passengers are projected to use Incheon Airport between July 25th and August 10th, a slight increase from last year.
  • Airports are implementing special measures, including extended operating hours for check-in and security, increased staffing, and additional parking, to manage the surge in travelers.

South Korea's airports are bracing for a significant surge in passenger traffic during the peak summer vacation season. Incheon International Airport (ICN) forecasts its busiest day to be August 2nd, expecting approximately 234,273 passengers. Gimpo International Airport (GMP) anticipates its peak on August 6th.

This year's summer peak season is expected to see high demand for overseas travel by domestic travelers as well as inbound tourism demand from foreigners.

— Kim Beom-hoActing President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, on expected travel demand.

Incheon International Airport Corporation projects a total of 3.77 million passengers will travel through ICN between July 25th and August 10th. This represents an average of 222,000 passengers per day, a modest increase from the 3.7 million passengers and 218,000 daily average recorded during the same period last year. The corporation noted that August 2nd is expected to see the highest number of arrivals, while July 25th will likely have the most departures.

Meanwhile, the Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) estimates that 2.7 million passengers will use the 13 national airports it manages (excluding ICN and Muan International Airport) during the same holiday period. This figure includes 1.45 million domestic travelers and 1.25 million international travelers, an increase from last year's 2.61 million.

We will focus on managing the arrival process, multilingual guidance, and smart services for foreign tourists.

— Kim Beom-hoIncheon International Airport's commitment to facilitating foreign tourist arrivals.

To accommodate the increased volume, both airport authorities are rolling out special traffic control measures. ICN is relocating quarantine desks in Terminal 2 to create more waiting space, opening key departure gates 30 minutes earlier than usual, and expanding dedicated Smart Pass departure gates from four to five. KAC is maximizing the operation of security checkpoints, deploying additional guidance staff, and opening check-in counters and immigration counters earlier. Both organizations are also increasing parking capacity, with ICN adding 3,017 spaces and KAC securing an additional 6,285 temporary parking spaces across its airports.

We will provide safe and convenient airport services to the public during the summer vacation period.

— Park Jae-heeActing President of Korea Airports Corporation, on ensuring smooth travel operations.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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