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World’s second-best airport opens departure checkpoints earlier amid summer travel boom

Sandy Verma | July 25, 2026 10:24 AM CST

South Korea will open departure checkpoints earlier and deploy additional immigration officers at Incheon International Airport to reduce wait times during the peak summer holiday travel season.

The Justice Ministry said on July 22 that it will implement a special immigration inspection plan at Incheon Airport during the summer peak travel season from July 23 to Aug. 8, Korea Joongang Daily reported.

At Terminal 1, Departure Hall 2 will open from 5:30 a.m. and Departure Hall 4 from 6 a.m., while at Terminal 2, Departure Hall 2 will begin operating at 5 a.m., The Chosun Daily reported.

The number of immigration inspection officers will increase from 24 to 32 at Terminal 1 and from 14 to 20 at Terminal 2 to help speed up passenger processing.

Security staff checks a passenger in the departure hall at Incheon international airport, west of Seoul, South Korea, on March 17, 2020. Photo by AFP

During the summer peak travel season, families traveling with minor children will also be able to register for automated immigration clearance inside the departure halls.

Previously, minors had to visit an immigration service center outside the departure halls to complete the registration process.

Incheon Airport expects about 3.88 million passengers to travel through the airport during the July 25-Aug. 10 summer travel period, up 4.7% from a year earlier, The Korea Herald reported.

Ranked the world’s second-best behind Singapore’s Changi in the 2026 Skytrax World Airport Awards, it recorded 19.78 million international passengers during the January-March period, the most among 1,234 international airports globally, according to data from the Airports Council International.