Incheon International Airport has always been a major vulnerability for South Korea and here is another example of that:
North Korea’s recent campaign of launching trash-carrying balloons toward South Korea has disrupted operations of Incheon International Airport, the South’s main gateway, on 12 occasions, a lawmaker said Tuesday, citing government data.
According to data from the Seoul Regional Aviation Administration submitted to Rep. Yang Bu-nam of the main opposition Democratic Party, runways at the airport have been shut down for a total of 265 minutes across 12 occasions due to the balloons sent from North Korea.
The first disruption incident occurred from 10:48 p.m. to 11:42 p.m. on June 1, four days after North Korea first began launching the balloons. The most severe disruption occurred on June 26, when runways were shut down on eight occasions, resulting in 166 minutes of halted takeoffs and landings.
Suspected chemical found at Incheon Int’l Airport A chemical response team arrives at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on May 23, 2024, after an unidentified chemical was discovered there earlier in the day. (Yonhap)
Incheon airport to introduce facial recognition system The SMART Pass system, which enables tourists to undergo departure procedures easily using only facial recognition information, is installed at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on July 10, 2023. The system is scheduled to be introduced at the end of the month. (Yonhap)
Surprise event for airport reunionA woman wearing a dinosaur costume greets her elder sister at Incheon airport, west of Seoul, on Feb. 20, 2023, as the sister returned home from Germany after one year and six months. (Yonhap)
It will be interesting to see if this suspension of flights had anything to do with North Korea:
South Korea’s transport ministry said Monday it temporarily suspended flights at the Gimpo and Incheon international airports, but it didn’t specify the reason.
At the request of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said it had banned flights at the country’s two major airports for about an hour Monday afternoon.
Flights at the Gimpo and Incheon airports resumed at 2:10 p.m. after the flights were halted at 1:08 p.m. and 1:22 p.m., respectively, the ministry said.
Twenty flights at Gimpo and 10 flights at Incheon were delayed due to the suspension order, according to the airports’ operators.
You can read more at the link, but Incheon International Airport I have always felt is a very easy provocation target for North Korea that would have immense impact on South Korea.
This would definitely make entering the country much easier and likely kickstart tourism again:
Incheon International Airport has requested the government to allow PCR test-free arrivals, as in-bound tourism is expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.
The Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) announced during a press conference at the airport complex, Monday, that it has made a proposal to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to lift quarantine regulations by replacing mandatory PCR testing for arrivals with rapid antigen tests (RAT) or mandating testing only for those with symptoms or arriving from high-risk regions.
Under the current regulation of manual monitoring, all inbound passengers with full vaccination history must undergo a PCR test on the first day of their arrival and take a RAT test again within six to seven days after arrival. Those violating these requirements are subject to a maximum one-year prison term or 10 million won fine.
If introduced, the airport authorities said the PCR test exemption could help the nation’s tourism sector recover from the last two years of pandemic-driven economic losses.
Incheon airport’s 4th runway Land and Transport Minister Noh Hyeong-ouk (2nd from L) visits the fourth runway at Incheon airport, west of Seoul, on June 16, 2021, before it is put into service starting 1:00 a.m. the next day. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
Here is another example of a Tom Hanks like stranding at an airport:
A man seeking asylum status in Korea was allowed to leave Incheon International Airport and enter the country after being stuck there for 14 months, as his refugee application had been denied.
Incheon District Court made a ruling, Tuesday, to allow temporary dismissal of his status as an “internee” and granted him the right to stay at a local hospital in order to undergo medical treatment.
The man, whose nationality was not revealed, from his home country due to political persecution and arrived at Incheon International Airport in February 2020. But his refugee application was denied by the Ministry of Justice, as the final destination of his flight was another country, with Korea as a transfer point. Refugees can make applications as asylum seekers at immigration checkpoints.
Since that time, he had been living in the transit zone of the airport.
Anti-terror drill A national anti-terror drill is under way at the first terminal of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on Nov. 6, 2020. (Yonhap
