[Two Airports Story] No One Leaves... We Are the Ones Leaving

International Flight Check-in Airline Workers
Disappearing from Both Incheon and Gimpo Airports
Intensified Financial Difficulties Focused on LCCs

On the 9th, as the spread of COVID-19 continues, arrivals are waiting at Terminal 2 arrivals hall of Incheon International Airport. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has lasted for over two years, has completely transformed the working environment for employees related to Incheon and Gimpo International Airports. Half of the workers in the aviation and travel industries working at the airports have entered temporary leave, and one in five left the industry last year to find new jobs.

The most significant change is that most airline and ground handling workers responsible for check-in at the international terminals of Incheon and Gimpo International Airports have disappeared. This phenomenon has been especially concentrated among low-cost carriers (LCCs), which have struggled to operate international flights. The shrinking demand for international passengers, which had been a cash cow, has deepened their financial difficulties.

For example, Jin Air, a major domestic LCC, expanded and reassigned its international staff at Incheon Airport to regional airports such as Ulsan, Pohang, Wonju, Gunsan, and Daegu after the spread of COVID-19. An aviation industry official said, "While the domestic terminal at Gimpo Airport is crowded with passengers, the international terminal has become a ghost terminal since COVID-19," adding, "At Incheon Airport, except for the international Terminal 2 operated by Korean Air, the number of workers at Terminal 1 has significantly decreased."

Travel agencies that used to be stationed at the airports have long since left the terminals. Modetour, a major domestic travel agency, closed all its offices at Incheon and Gimhae Airports after the COVID-19 outbreak. About 40 on-site full-time employees were reassigned or left their jobs. A Modetour representative said, "We judged that operating on-site offices was difficult given the uncertainty about when international flights would return to normal." Currently, Modetour only maintains contracts for travel agency sending desks (meeting points) at Incheon Airport Terminals 1 and 2.

According to the ‘2020 Transport Industry Survey Preliminary Results’ released by Statistics Korea last month, the number of employees in the air transportation industry was 33,754, a 21.8% decrease compared to the same period last year (43,152). During the same period, the number of air transportation companies also dropped by 28.2%, from 78 to 56.

The airport duty-free business, once called the golden goose, is also seeing workers leave the airports due to reduced passenger demand. According to Incheon International Airport Corporation’s ‘Duty-Free Store Reduction and Closure Status,’ from August 2020 to February last year, 23 out of 50 duty-free stores in Terminal 1 were vacant, resulting in a vacancy rate of 46%. Among the 27 operating stores, only 17 were operating normally, excluding 10 stores with reduced hours.

The corporation has been conducting bids for new operators of Terminal 1 duty-free stores since 2020 but has suffered three failed auctions, damaging its pride. The resumption of bidding has been postponed indefinitely. Im Seong-bin, head of the duty-free business team at Incheon Airport Corporation, stated, "We will select operators at an appropriate time considering the recovery trend of passenger demand," but the industry expects it will take considerable time before normal operations resume.

Kim Su-gon, Executive Vice President of the Korea Air Transport Association, said, "There are talks that the government is considering reducing support for the aviation industry this year," adding, "Since industry workers are still suffering from financial difficulties due to temporary leave, urgent measures such as expanding government employment retention subsidies are desperately needed."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.