Both Short- and Long-term Parking Lots "Congested"
Long Lines at Check-in Counters
On the 25th, the first day of the Lunar New Year golden holiday, Incheon International Airport is bustling with travelers heading overseas.
Travelers visiting Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 on the 24th, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday including the temporary public holiday, are lining up to get their tickets. Incheon International Airport Corporation announced that during the special transportation measures period for this Lunar New Year holiday, from the 24th to the 2nd of next month, a total of 2,141,000 passengers, averaging 214,000 passengers per day, are expected to use Incheon Airport. Photo by Kang Jin-hyeong
Between 2 and 3 p.m. that day, the Incheon Airport website showed both short- and long-term parking lots as "congested." With many users gathering, long lines formed at check-in counters and other areas. Since many people can take up to 9 days off using annual leave during this Lunar New Year holiday, the airport is crowded with travelers heading abroad.
Before the Lunar New Year holiday, posts appeared on social media platforms (SNS) reporting severe congestion at Incheon Airport due to the crowds. One user on X (formerly Twitter) advised, "The crowds at Incheon Airport are as rumored," adding, "You should arrive at least 4 hours early to have some leeway." Another user reported, "I've been waiting in line for 30 minutes just for the self bag drop (automatic baggage check-in)."
However, so far, there have been no reports of flight delays caused by passenger congestion.
Travelers visiting Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 on the 24th, ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday including a temporary public holiday, are lining up to get their tickets. Incheon International Airport Corporation announced that during the special transportation period for the Lunar New Year holiday, from the 24th to the 2nd of next month, a total of 2,141,000 passengers, averaging 214,000 per day, are expected to use Incheon Airport. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung
During this Lunar New Year holiday period, more than 2 million passengers are expected to use Incheon Airport. According to the "Incheon Airport Lunar New Year Holiday Passenger Forecast" data received by Jeon Yong-gi, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party, from Incheon International Airport Corporation and others, from the 24th of last month to the 2nd of next month, the total number of passengers at Incheon Airport is expected to reach 2,141,101, with 1,046,647 departing passengers and 1,094,454 arriving passengers.
On a daily average, about 214,110 passengers are expected to visit Incheon Airport. This is a 12.8% increase compared to the 189,815 passengers during last year's Lunar New Year holiday period. By date, the highest number of passengers is predicted on the 25th with 227,725, followed by the 26th with 227,217, and the 24th with 224,885.
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