Overseas Travel Becomes Cheaper... Incheon Airport Restrictions Lifted from June 8

Government Pushes for Early Normalization of International Flights
Expansion of Air Routes and 24-Hour Airport Operations

Photo by Asia Economy

International flights at Incheon International Airport, which had been reduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will return to normal operation starting from the 8th. As the supply of flights increases, airfare prices are also expected to become more affordable.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) announced on the 3rd that it decided to promote the "early normalization of international flights" at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting for COVID-19.

MOLIT will lift the hourly aircraft arrival slot restrictions and curfew hours at Incheon Airport, which have been in place since April 2020, after 2 years and 2 months.

The number of aircraft arrivals per hour at Incheon Airport had been reduced to 20 since the COVID-19 outbreak, but from the 8th, it will increase to 40, the pre-pandemic level. The curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. the next day will also be lifted, allowing Incheon Airport to operate 24 hours a day.

MOLIT stated, "The supply of flights will become smoother, and various flight schedules will be restored quickly," adding, "During the vacation season, citizens will be able to choose from a variety of overseas travel destinations at affordable prices."

The scale of international flight increases has also been expanded beyond the original plan.

Initially, MOLIT planned to gradually increase international flights by 100 to 300 flights per week each month, aiming to restore international flights to 50% of pre-COVID-19 levels by the end of the year. However, considering the recent sharp rise in air travel demand and the stable COVID-19 situation domestically and internationally, the flight scale will be expanded rapidly.

Specifically, MOLIT increased the planned international flight additions for June by 130 flights per week to a total of 230 flights per week, and from the 8th, plans to supply flights according to demand without restrictions on the scale of increases.

Accordingly, it is expected that the recovery of the aviation industry and stabilization of airfare prices will be achieved, and difficulties faced by global companies struggling with a shortage of tickets for overseas economic activities will also be resolved.

Additionally, to facilitate passengers' swift entry, Incheon International Airport Corporation, Korea Airports Corporation, and the Ministry of National Defense will provide personnel for guidance and order maintenance. MOLIT will also enhance the use of the 'Q-Code,' which enables rapid quarantine screening, to manage airport congestion. Using the Q-Code, which is entered online in advance at the departure location, reduces quarantine processing time at the airport from 60 seconds to 30 seconds.

Furthermore, from this day forward, regulations such as the requirement for cabin crew to wear protective equipment and the operation of crew-only restrooms will be lifted.

At the same time, strict procedures for verifying negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test certificates before boarding through airlines will be maintained to respond to the domestic inflow of new variants.

Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Recently, airfare prices have become very expensive, and I often hear that it has become difficult to find even those expensive tickets, making overseas business trips or visits to relatives challenging," adding, "I hope that early normalization of international flights will alleviate the economic burden and inconvenience for citizens and allow the aviation industry to take off again."