Even as the prolonged U.S.-Iran conflict pushes up oil prices and stokes currency swings, airlines are seeing more people jetting abroad for this month’s Labor Day and Children’s Day long weekend. On May 1, the airline industry said it expects 1,300,195 passengers to pass through Incheon Airport over the six-day stretch from April 30 through May 5 (arrivals and departures combined). That’s an average of 216,699 travelers per day, above the airport’s usual daily traffic of about 200,000.
Daily estimates are: April 30 — 214,008; May 1 — 214,124; May 2 — 214,854; May 3 — 218,032; May 4 — 227,439; May 5 — 211,738. May 4 is expected to be the busiest day of the long weekend at Incheon.
By destination, 193,300 passengers (29% of the total) are headed to Japan, the largest share. Southeast Asia follows with 161,168 (24.2%), China 113,427 (17%), the Americas 64,469 (9.7%), and Europe 45,358 (6.8%). Just 429 passengers (0.1%) are traveling to the Middle East, reflecting the conflict’s impact.
To handle the surge, the Ministry of Justice will open Departure Gates 2 and 4 at Terminal 1 and Gate 2 at Terminal 2 30 minutes earlier for three days starting April 30. A 20-member special mobile team and a 10-person emergency standby team will also be deployed to immigration checkpoints to speed up processing throughout the holiday.
