Incheon Airport "53 Million International Passengers This Year... 76% Recovery Compared to 2019"

Incheon International Airport Corporation forecasted that the number of international passengers using Incheon International Airport will recover to 53 million this year, reaching 76% of the 70.58 million passengers in 2019.

At a media briefing held for reporters on the 13th, Incheon Airport Corporation predicted that the number of international passengers this year will be approximately 49 to 53 million.

This corresponds to 70 to 76% of the 2019 level. Previously, the corporation expected international passengers to reach about 45 to 51 million this year. However, passenger numbers recovered faster than anticipated, leading to an upward revision of the forecast. The corporation judged that demand is gradually increasing due to the rise in passengers following the easing of COVID-19 and the normalization of supply. However, it also analyzed that there are some constraints on demand recovery. Factors include restrictions on issuing group tourist visas for China and increased travel expenditure burdens due to the economic environment.

In the first quarter, 11,432,431 international passengers used Incheon Airport, marking a 1052.6% increase compared to the same period last year. The growth in tourists from Southeast Asia and Japan, which resumed last year, continued into the first quarter of this year. By region, Southeast Asia (4,464,000), Japan (2,810,000), and the Americas (1,186,000) led the increase in passenger demand. However, China (377,000) only recovered 12.2% compared to pre-COVID levels. Nevertheless, the corporation expects a sharp increase once group tours resume.

The corporation plans to provide stable airport services in line with the increase in international passengers during the summer peak season. To this end, it will focus on ▲immigration facilities ▲flight operation facilities ▲transportation services ▲commercial facilities ▲operational efficiency of Terminals 1 and 2 ▲and establishing a peak season response system. In particular, the corporation plans to increase the number of Incheon Airport shuttle buses. Currently operating 1,077 trips per day, the number will increase to 1,387 trips in July and up to 1,735 trips in September, which is 80% of the pre-COVID-19 level. Additionally, anticipating parking lot saturation during the summer peak, a temporary parking lot with 4,350 spaces will be created.

Monthly Trends and Forecasts of International Passenger Demand at Incheon Airport in 2023. Source = Incheon International Airport Corporation

Alongside this, Incheon International Airport Corporation will strengthen aviation security following recent incidents involving live ammunition, knives, and fence climbing. First, through phased recruitment considering mandatory training periods for security screening personnel, the number of security screening staff, currently at 1,527, will be expanded to 1,890 by July.

The corporation will enhance screening and interpretation capabilities through education and training of personnel, strengthen aviation security level management by operating internal tests and a screening grading system, and minimize human error by expanding advanced smart screening equipment and artificial intelligence (AI) deployment to respond to the diversification and sophistication of terrorist techniques. Furthermore, it will inspect and improve security vulnerabilities in airport facilities such as the outer perimeter fence to strengthen access control security.

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