Flying to South Korea? Brace for 80-minute wait at Incheon airport immigration
Foreign travellers arriving in South Korea through Incheon International Airport can expect a long wait at the immigration counters. The lengthy queues were apparent at Incheon International Airport’s Terminal 1 on Friday, where foreign visitors stood waiting to clear immigration. The line stretched beyond the 10 waiting lanes marked out by retractable belt barriers. Chaos ensued near the…
Foreign travelers to South Korea through Incheon International Airport are facing lengthy immigration queues. At Terminal 1 on Friday, a line of 300 to 400 arrivals stretched beyond the 10 marked waiting lanes. Despite the presence of three or four guides from the Korea Immigration Service, the confusion persisted. Passengers who began clearing immigration at noon did not complete the process until after 1:20pm.
This 80-minute wait surpassed the International Civil Aviation Organization's recommended 45-minute limit for immigration queues. The surge in foreign visitors is the primary cause, with arrivals increasing to 2.04 million in June from 1.74 million the previous year – a 20.6% rise. This surge is projected to continue during the summer holiday season.
Currently, only 11 of 20 foreign immigration counters and five of 10 Korean counters were open on Friday, contributing to the backlog. The Ministry of Justice plans to increase staffing, but new officers won't be available until the end of the year. The anticipated increase in personnel will only be deployed after months of training.
Daily arrivals currently range between 220,000 and 240,000, with a growing number of foreign passengers traveling with infants and children, exacerbating congestion during peak hours.
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written; read the original for the full account.
