Tile floors gleam and sunlight streams in overhead through the glass-paneled ceiling at the second passenger terminal of Incheon Airport, which is in the last stages of preparation to open to the public on Jan. 18.

The terminal represents the culmination of a nine-year project worth 5 trillion won ($4.63 billion).

The first thing that catches the eye is the ceiling, about 5 meters taller than that of the first terminal. The high ceiling is one of the ways in which the second terminal has tried to amplify the sense of open space, a departure from the more compact feel of the first terminal.

T2 is about 71 percent the size of the first terminal, and will house four Skyteam airlines – Korea’s flagship carrier Korean Air, Delta, Air France and KLM. The terminal will be able to handle 18 million passengers annually, and once additional wings to the terminal are complete, the capacity will rise to more than 46 million passengers.

To handle those passengers efficiently, Incheon Airport has made several improvements vis-a-vis T1 to facilitate a quicker flow of traffic.

The distance from the transit center, where passengers arrive via public transportation, to the passenger terminal itself has been shortened to 59 meters, vastly closer than the 223 meters in the first terminal.

The shortened walking time is designed to alleviate delays arising from buses that take longer to reach T2 because of the route designs, which direct the buses to T1 before heading to the second terminal. Bus passengers at T2 will be able to comfortably wait for their ride inside the terminal thanks to digital boards indicating when buses will arrive, rather than waiting outside in line as at T1.

Once inside, passengers are encouraged to use the increased number of self-check-in kiosks in the center of the terminal. 

According to an official with Korean Air, using the self-check-in kiosks reduces check-in time to about 15 seconds. Immediately behind the kiosks, passengers can use self-bag-drops to further shorten the time required to check in.

The next step is security. Whereas at the first terminal, entrances to the secured area were spread out throughout the terminal, in the second terminal the entrances are clustered on either end to make them easy to find. Digital signboards indicate which entrances are most crowded to guide passengers to the quickest lines.

In the second terminal, Incheon Airport will be using 24 circular full-body scanners for the first time, reducing the need for additional pat-downs. 

With all of these improvements, total time from arrival at the airport to the end of the security screening is expected to be shortened by about 20 minutes relative to the first terminal. Incheon Airport is also hoping to use a walk-through face-scanning system to speed up immigration screenings by using cameras to scan the faces of passengers and automatically match them to passports, pending approval from the Ministry of Justice.

Premium passengers with Korean Air will also be able to enjoy exclusive facilities that will make their debut at the second terminal. The A section at the second terminal will house a premium check-in counter for first-class passengers and Korean Air frequent flyers. The first-class lounge will allow passengers to relax while employees help them one-on-one with check-in and bag drops, and provide other concierge services.

By Won Ho-jung 
(hjwon@heraldcorp.com)