Current Korea

New Terminal Features
Improved Safety,
Smart Technology, Services

President Moon Jae-in speaks during the opening of
the second terminal at Incheon International Airport

Written by Hwang Hyo-jin, current writer Photos courtesy of Incheon International Airport Corporation

The second terminal at
Incheon International Airport

The second terminal at Incheon International Airport opened in January, under the new slogan of “Opening Skies, Connecting People.” This came after four years of construction that began on Sept. 26, 2013. The terminal covers an area of 384,336 square meters and is capable of accommodating 18 million passengers annually. The official opening was on Jan.18. The first flight out of the second terminal was by Delta Air Lines.

An opening ceremony was attended by President Moon Jae-in, figure skater Kim Yuna, actor Song Joong-ki, members of the National Assembly, government officials, Airports Council International (ACI) representatives, heads of international airports and foreign envoys to Korea.

“This is truly a smart airport!”

Operated separately from Terminal 1, the new passenger terminal has its own check-in system, security, customs and boarding gates. It houses four airlines from the SkyTeam alliance: Korean Air, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Air France. Passengers flying on these airlines will use Terminal 2. President Moon was impressed by the terminal’s smart technology, such as the location-based guide robots, 3-D guide maps, self check-in kiosks and the 360-degree security scanner. With the help of a guide robot, the president used the self check-in kiosk and bag drop service, along with Kim Yuna and Song Joong-ki. Thanks to the introduction of a self-ticketing and bag drop, passengers can skip the queues and save time when using the second terminal.

Safety and security above all else!

After the opening ceremony, President Moon headed to the security checkpoint and inspected the newly installed 360-degree security scanners. The scanners take only three seconds to scan each passenger, and display detected anomalies on body-shaped avatars. Expected to serve an estimated 70 million passengers this year, the second terminal will have a plane taking off every minute. The president added that safety and security are top priorities, especially considering the nature of airport operations. The airport hopes will make Incheon a hub not only for the region but for the world.