Passengers wait in line at a security checkpoint at Gimpo International Airport’s domestic terminal, in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Friday. (Yonhap)
With August just around the corner, a multitude of footsteps and the sound of luggage wheels marked the start of peak vacation season at Gimpo International Airport on Friday. The peak season in Korea begins in late June to mid-August, culminating to a peak at the first two weeks of August. Passengers at airports have quadrupled within a few weeks, after a two-year freeze in air travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even with the recent resurgence of COVID-19 patients, people in masks are waiting in lines at airport security checkpoints. As of Monday, all passengers arriving from international flights to Korea are mandated to take a polymerase chain reaction test within two days of arrival.
A parking lot packed with cars at the domestic terminal of Gimpo International Airport, in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Friday. (Yonhap)
Passengers arriving from international flights on their way to a COVID-19 testing center at Incheon Airport Terminal 1 for PCR tests on Thursday afternoon in Incheon. A record-high of 532 imported cases were reported on Wednesday, followed by the third-highest tally of 425 cases reported on Thursday. (Yonhap)
Passengers take a break at the Louis Vuitton complex cultural space at Incheon Airport Terminal 1 in Incheon, Thursday. (Yonhap)
