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| Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, is crowded with travelers arriving in the country, Wednesday. Yonhap |
By Lee Hae-rin
Incheon International Airport, the country's busiest international air transport hub, will expand services and personnel to meet the recently eased travel restrictions for the summer holiday season, Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) announced, Thursday.
In the first half of this year, the airport saw more than 3.93 million international passengers, which is a 233.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year, the IIAC said at a press conference, Thursday.
The country eased self-isolation requirements for vaccinated travelers in April and for unvaccinated arrivals in June. Also, the government approved reopening time slots, lifting the flight curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
During the first half of the year, the airport saw a steep increase in inbound travelers from Southeast Asia at 447.1 percent, the Americas at 211.7 percent and Europe at 237 percent. Meanwhile, travel from China went down by 31.2 percent due to the country's current zero-COVID restrictions.
By the end of this year, the IIAC expects to see 24 million international passengers, which yields an estimated average of 66,000 daily trips, which would signify a recovery to 35 percent of 2019's 70.58 million.
The future quarantine restrictions and border controls from neighboring Asian countries including China and Japan are pivotal to the recovery of the airport and inbound travel, the IIAC said, which could lower the yearly forecast to 19 million.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, passengers from China and Japan took 19.1 percent and 16.7 percent with 13.58 million and 10.85 million travelers, respectively, together composing 35 percent of 2019's 71.10 million passengers.
To handle the eased travel restrictions which will undoubtedly result in a tourism rebound ― between July 22 and Aug. 10 ― the IIAC plans to move into the second of its three-phase airport operation normalization scale.
In this phase, with daily travelers between 60,000 and 120,000, 80 percent of the facilities in the airport's arrivals and departures sections will be operated.
The self-check-in and baggage drop-off services, shower facilities and the Muslim prayer room will be reopened to the public. Other facilities, including commercial facilities, transport services and accommodation will be back in use as well.
In this peak summer season, set between July 22 and Aug. 10, an average of 85,621 daily passengers are forecast to use the airport, which would be a 747 percent increase from the same period the year before.
If the airport's daily users surpass 120,000, which is 60 percent of pre-pandemic levels, the airport will initiate phase 3 and resume full operation in every aspect.
The IIAC plans to secure workers to prevent staff shortages and consequent operational disruptions. Several international airports overseas, including Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam and Gatwick Airport in London, have been grappling with staff shortages and delayed and cut summer flights.
However, the IIAC said it foresees a medical worker shortage under the current quarantine regulations. Thus, it called for further easing of quarantine measures by removing the rule for all inbound travelers to submit a PCR test result taken before boarding and upon 48 hours of arrival and running screening inspections of arrivals from some pandemic-hit countries.
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