Long queues of people, unpleasant hours of waiting for check-in and later sprinting to the gate to clear immigration in time for the flight ― these are common bugbears of using a busy airport.

Though bustling with some 134,000 travelers a day, check-in delays are rare on a regular day at South Korea’s award-winning Incheon International Airport, which prides itself on offering users the fastest and most convenient services in the world.

Ranked first in the Airport Service Quality survey since 2006, the flagship airport’s success lies in its exclusive tech-savvy infrastructure that significantly cuts down boarding prep time, according to the head of its customer service team.

“The key to an airport’s service excellence lies in not just safety but convenience and speed ― which Incheon Airport has managed to build up through its comprehensive automated system,” Incheon International Airport Corp.’s customer service management team director Sunny Yoon told The Korea Herald.

Located at the center of the departure hall is the “self-check-in zone” where passengers can complete their entire boarding procedure from check-in, ticketing, to baggage drop off using the special kiosks and self-baggage-drop machines. The entire process only takes 6 minutes on average. 

The airport is currently equipped with 92 self-check-in kiosks, which service a total of 12 major airline companies. The self-baggage-drop machines ― two are available on each side of the departure hall ― were installed in July.

Korean passport holders can take advantage of the automatic immigration clearance service, which, upon a one-time registration, simplifies the immigration procedure down to two steps ― passport and fingerprint scanning.

“Though such automated services are available elsewhere, few have managed to come up with a comprehensive boarding system of such organizational sophistication and efficiency,” said Yoon, who oversees and manages the airport’s diverse service units.

Incheon Airport’s departure process takes on average 38 minutes and 26 seconds, while the arrival process is completed within an average 23 minutes and 14 seconds ― significantly faster than the international standard of 60 minutes for departures and 45 minutes for arrivals, according to the airport operator.

“Our aim is to speed up the boarding process as much as possible in order to give our users more time to shop and enjoy the various amenities offered by the airport,” said the CS team chief.

Among such amenities are the world’s leading duty-free stores as well as diverse cultural events and programs, unique strengths of Incheon Airport that other airport operators around the world are particularly impressed with or are looking to benchmark, according to Yoon.

Over the past 15 years, some 7,000 officials from 80 countries have reportedly visited Incheon Airport, including the CEOs of leading global airports including Heathrow Airport in London, Los Angeles International Airport and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

“Many are especially impressed with or envious of Incheon Airport’s focus on the promotion of traditional Korean culture, for which tens of billions of won has been invested annually,” she said.

The airport hosts some 7,000 cultural events annually, including music concerts, exhibitions, arts performances and hands-on cultural activities available inside and outside of the passenger terminal.

Reflecting its dedication to cultural promotion, the nation’s main gateway to the world reportedly transformed one Chanel duty-free store, which had earned tens of billions of won in annual profits, into a cultural experience space operated by the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation.

Seeking to retain its title as the world’s top-ranking airport, Incheon Airport has been moving to address concerns repeatedly voiced by consumers over the past years, including parking issues and high food prices inside its facilities.

“We expanded and streamlined our parking system and implemented lower-cost dining brands,” Yoon said. Around 88 percent of the menus available at diverse restaurants inside the airport are now priced under 10,000 won, according to the airport.

In addition, Incheon Airport is set to drive up its handling capacity from 44 million to 62 million people when it opens its second passenger terminal in 2017. The planned expansion is set to ease passenger traffic and further expedite boarding time.

As of now, the airport operator plans to make efforts to maximize its operational efficiency, as it foresees operational problems stemming from overcrowded facilities until the new terminal opens in two years.

“Incheon Airport was able to get by this year thanks to lower-than-usual floating population during the peak summer season due to the MERS outbreak in Korea,” said Yoon. Even with fewer users, the airport will have accommodated some 48 million people, surpassing its capacity, by the year’s end.

“We plan to maximize our operational efficiency before the opening of the new terminal in 2017, through efforts like establishing more self-zones and deploying more employees to address customer concerns.”

Mindful of the growing competitiveness of airports in Asia like Singapore’s Changi Airport, Incheon Airport has also set its sights on topping the Skytrax World Airport Awards next year in addition to the Airports Council international’s ASQ index.

“We worked very hard to improve our services to receive a favorable evaluation from Skytrax this year, in hopes of capturing the No. 1 spot next year,” said Yoon.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)