Two Foreigners Denied Entry Escape by Climbing Fence at Incheon Airport

Waiting for Repatriation Flight at Passenger Terminal
Advanced Security System Useless... Tracking Movement Path

Two foreigners who were denied entry at Incheon International Airport and were waiting to be repatriated to their home countries escaped by climbing over the outer fence and fleeing outside the airport.

According to reports from Yonhap News and others on the 26th, the Incheon Airport Police Unit and the Incheon Airport Immigration Office announced that at around 4:20 a.m. on the same day, Kazakh nationals A (21) and B (18) escaped outside the airport by climbing over the outer fence in the northern area of Runway 4 at Incheon Airport in Jung-gu, Incheon.

A and the others were denied entry on the morning of the 24th. They attempted to enter the country through Incheon Airport along with other Kazakh nationals but were denied entry, reportedly due to "unclear purpose of entry." Afterwards, while waiting for a repatriation flight in the departure waiting room of Terminal 2 (T2) at Incheon Airport, they secretly left the waiting room, broke the bus gate window on the first floor of Terminal 1, and went out to the runway area.

Runway and concourse of Incheon Airport Terminal 2. Photo by Asia Economy DB.

The outer fence boundary wall at Incheon Airport, which they escaped over, is equipped with barbed wire, and advanced security systems such as infrared monitoring equipment and security sensors are also in operation, but these measures were insufficient to prevent their escape.

After receiving a report from Incheon International Airport Corporation that "an abnormal signal was detected by the intrusion detection system," the police dispatched officers to the scene, confirmed the escape of A and others, and are tracking them by reviewing nearby closed-circuit television (CCTV). However, there are no CCTVs near the outer fence they climbed over, making tracking difficult.

Meanwhile, Incheon Airport has recently been plagued by a series of adverse incidents. On the 10th of last month, two 9mm handgun bullets were found on a Korean Air passenger flight bound for Manila, Philippines, causing the plane to return just before takeoff. Then, on the 16th, 5.56mm rifle bullets were found in the departure hall on the third floor of Terminal 1. With this recent incident added, concerns are rising that there may be security gaps in the airport's screening process.