Immigration authorities at Incheon International Airport are shifting to a special operating system as a string of holidays runs from Chuseok through China's National Day and Hangeul Day. Officials expect as many as 60,000 foreign travelers to enter the country through the airport in a single day during China's National Day break, prompting emergency steps that include boosting entry screening staff by up to 47%.
The Incheon Airport Immigration Office said on the 17th that it will run special staffing measures on three separate occasions over 14 days between Sept. 23 and Oct. 11, timed to the Chuseok, China's National Day and National Foundation Day, and Hangeul Day holidays. The Chuseok measures run Sept. 23-27, the China National Day and National Foundation Day period from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, and the Hangeul Day period Oct. 9-11.
Passenger traffic through Incheon during the Chuseok holiday is projected to average 225,899 arrivals and departures a day, up 6.3% from a year earlier. The busiest day is expected to be Sept. 27, with 245,318 travelers using the airport. Departures are forecast to peak at 131,154 on Sept. 24, and arrivals at 138,658 on Sept. 27.
Demand from foreign travelers is expected to concentrate during China's National Day holiday in particular. Authorities estimate foreign arrivals could reach up to 55,000 on Oct. 1 and up to 60,000 on Oct. 2. Given that the daily peak for foreign arrivals during last year's National Day period was 40,767, officials expect a sharp increase in demand for entry screening.
"We will implement special measures spanning the Chuseok holiday, China's National Day, and the National Foundation Day and Hangeul Day holidays," said Kim Jung-do, head of the Incheon Airport Immigration Office. "In particular, foreign arrivals could rise to as many as 60,000 during China's National Day, so we plan to put emergency special measures in place."
The office will also designate the four days from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3, when arrivals are most concentrated, as a separate emergency period. Entry screening staff will rise 30% from the usual 128 to 166 during the basic measures period, and 47% to 188 during the emergency period. Departure screening staff will expand 42%, from 38 to 54. During overnight and thinly staffed hours, employees from support units including the forensics, investigation and screening support divisions will be assigned to emergency duty, and supervisory staffing at screening halls will also increase.
Departure halls will open earlier than usual. On 12 days during the special measures period, Terminal 1's No. 2 departure hall will open at 5:30 a.m. instead of 6 a.m., and the No. 4 hall at 6 a.m. instead of 6:30 a.m. Terminal 2's No. 2 departure hall will open 30 minutes earlier, at 5 a.m. instead of 5:30 a.m.
A recent shift in travel patterns at Incheon also lies behind the stepped-up measures. During this summer's peak season, departures by Korean nationals fell while foreign arrivals rose 23.5%. From July 22 to Aug. 15, departures by Korean nationals totaled 1,498,630, down 4.4% from a year earlier. Foreign arrivals, by contrast, came to 1,076,627, up 23.5%.
"School vacations have usually meant more departures by Korean nationals and fewer foreign arrivals, but this summer we actually saw a large influx of foreign travelers," Kim said. "It has become difficult to focus only on measures for outbound Korean travelers just because it is vacation season." Demand from foreign arrivals has been especially pronounced at Terminal 1, according to the office, which plans to differentiate its approach going forward by focusing on arrivals at Terminal 1 and departures at Terminal 2.
The office also plans to reorganize its departure waiting room team into a formal repatriation enforcement division and to spin off a refugee referral screening team from its entry reexamination division. Under a restructuring taking effect in November, it will add 141 staff in total, including 84 immigration inspectors, 10 in entry reexamination, 19 in repatriation enforcement and 28 in automated screening management. Actual deployment is expected in December, when mid-career hiring wraps up.
The office is also expanding automated immigration screening to make travel easier for minors. It ran a pilot program this summer to pre-register about 6,500 minors for automated screening and is considering a more aggressive rollout over the winter school break. "We ran the pre-registration pilot during relatively quiet hours over the summer break, and satisfaction was quite high, with a good response from the young people involved," Kim said. "We are looking at expanding it more aggressively during the winter break."
