Incheon International Airport plans to expand Smart Pass corridors to enhance convenience for users of the app that facilitates a quicker identification process for boarding travelers.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it will raise the number of Smart Pass entry points at Terminal 2 from two to three beginning Thursday.
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Terminal 1 will additionally include a second Smart Pass entry. Following the expansion, Smart Pass corridors will represent 31 percent of all departure entrances at the airport.
The government announced that by October, as many as 50 percent of departure gates at the nation's largest airport will feature Smart Pass corridors.
The system expansion aims to resolve concerns that the three current Smart Pass corridors cannot adequately manage the increasing passenger demand. The placement of the corridors, focused away from the central sections of the terminals, reduced accessibility. Smart Pass users, when alongside nonusers in security lines, reported that they did not experience the app's claimed fast boarding process.
As a result of these issues, travelers utilizing Smart Pass represented only 14.7 percent of airport patrons in March, as per the government's report.
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“Smart Pass is an innovative airport service leveraging cutting-edge technologies to improve both airport security and passenger convenience,” said Ahn Se-hee, director of aviation security policy division at the ministry. “We are committed to continuously enhancing the service to ensure the public can access and utilize it with greater ease and convenience.”
Smart Pass, launched at the airport in 2023, provides more than just quick identification of travelers using pre registered passport, biometric, and boarding pass information. Travelers with Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, T'way Air, and Air Premia enjoy automatic boarding pass synchronization through the app, eliminating the need for manual entry.
Smart Pass additionally enables self-bag drop and identity checks at boarding gates for certain airlines. A government survey in October found that 4,202 of 4,444 respondents were satisfied with Smart Pass.
Previously, Incheon International Airport is the first airport globally to feature a complete Hydrogen Mobility Hub, which includes a liquefied hydrogen refueling station. Created through a collaboration between the public and private sectors, this cutting-edge facility is instrumental in transforming airport buses and commercial vehicles to hydrogen, serving as a crucial foundation for advancing Korea’s hydrogen economy.
Hyverse, a subsidiary of SK Innovation E&S, conducted a ceremony on January 29 (local Korea time) to mark the completion of the Hydrogen Mobility Hub at Incheon Airport in Unseo-dong, Incheon. Key representatives from Incheon City, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Incheon International Airport Corporation, Korea Gas Technology Corporation, and SK Innovation E&S were present at the opening ceremony.
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The new center was created to address the specific requirements of airport transit, where shuttle and limousine services link passengers across the country. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reports that around 172,000 vehicles commute to and from Incheon Airport each day.