Incheon Airport Achieves 800 Million Cumulative Baggage in 23 Years Since Opening

Record-Breaking Performance Expected Soon

The cumulative baggage handling volume at Incheon Airport has surpassed 800 million pieces in 23 years since its opening in 2001.

On the 10th, Incheon International Airport Corporation announced that it held a ceremony the previous day at the baggage handling area of Incheon Airport to commemorate reaching 800 million pieces of cumulative baggage.

The 800 million pieces of baggage weigh approximately 12 million tons. If lined up, the total length would be 720,000 km, about 18 times the Earth's circumference (40,075 km).

Since reaching 100 million pieces on February 2006, Incheon Airport's cumulative baggage handling volume grew by about 9% annually until 2019. Although the growth rate slowed due to decreased air travel demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand recovered after the full normalization of airport operations was declared in August last year, leading to an increase again. It took 2 years and 6 months to reach 800 million pieces after achieving 700 million in December 2021.

Currently, Incheon Airport handles an average of 168,000 pieces of baggage daily, recovering to 98% of the 171,000 pieces handled daily in 2019 before COVID-19. Considering the recent increase in passengers, it is expected that the airport will soon break its all-time records. The highest daily handling record is 207,000 pieces on January 20, 2019, and the highest annual handling record is 62.99 million pieces in 2019.

Preparations are also underway to proactively respond to the increasing demand. The current baggage handling system at Incheon Airport has a total length of 141 km and covers an area of 375,610 square meters (equivalent to 53 soccer fields). When the expansion of Terminal 2 is completed by the end of this year, an additional 43 km of conveyor belts and auxiliary facilities will be added, bringing the total length to 184 km.

Additionally, Incheon Airport's rate of mishandled baggage is 2 per 1 million pieces, which is the world's best level compared to the global airport average of 61. The corporation plans to enhance the baggage handling infrastructure through digital transformation by developing and introducing a baggage tracking system for ground handling, piloting collaborative baggage transport robots, and developing baggage detection systems.

Lee Hak-jae, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, said, "We will accelerate the digital transformation based on advanced technologies such as big data, digital twin, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) to strengthen the future competitiveness of baggage infrastructure and provide passengers with even better airport services."

On the afternoon of the 9th, at the baggage handling area of Incheon Airport, Lee Hak-jae, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation (center front row), and attendees are taking a commemorative photo at the "Incheon Airport 800 Million Cumulative Baggage Achievement Ceremony." (Photo by Incheon International Airport Corporation)

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