jasdooit

South Korea plans to start departure checkpoints earlier and assign more immigration staff at Incheon International Airport to minimize waiting periods during the busy summer vacation travel period.

The Ministry of Justice announced on July 22 that it will introduce a special immigration check plan at Incheon Airport during the summer peak travel period, which runs from July 23 to August 8,Korea Joongang Daily reported.

At Terminal 1, Departure Hall 2 will start functioning at 5:30 a.m., and Departure Hall 4 from 6 a.m., whereas at Terminal 2, Departure Hall 2 will commence operations at 5 a.m.,The Chosun Daily reported.

The count of immigration inspection staff will rise from 24 to 32 in Terminal 1 and from 14 to 20 in Terminal 2 to assist in accelerating passenger processing.

Security personnel examines a traveler in the departure area of Incheon International Airport, located west of Seoul, South Korea, on March 17, 2020. Photo by AFP

During the busy summer travel period, families accompanied by young children will also have the option to sign up for automated immigration processing within the departure areas.

Earlier, young people were required to go to an immigration service center located outside the departure areas to finish the registration procedure.

Incheon Airport anticipates approximately 3.88 million travelers passing through the airport during the summer travel period from July 25 to August 10, representing a 4.7% increase compared to the previous year.The Korea Herald reported.

Ranked as the second-best in the world, following Singapore’s Changi, in the 2026 Skytrax World Airport Awards, it handled 19.78 million international travelers during the January-March period, the highest figure among 1,234 international airports worldwide, according to information from the Airports Council International.