President Koo Bon-hwan of Incheon International Airport Corp. delivers a speech at a ceremony to declare Incheon International Airport “COVID-19 free airport” at the Millennium Hall on the first floor of Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 on March 5. (Photo: IIAC)

Incheon International Airport has been highly praised for implementing a tight-knit quarantine guideline for the departure and arrival of all flights to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Those steps include a three-stage body temperature checkpoint procedure to measure the body temperature of flight passengers.

Starting March 11, all passengers of flights to the United States are required to have their health status checked before ticketing and boarding.

Amid steps to restrict Koreans’ entry to certain countries in the wake of the global spread of the virus, Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) held a ceremony to declare Incheon International Airport “COVID-19 free airport” on March 5.

Among the participants of the event were AAIC, its subsidiaries, Incheon International Airport Quarantine Authority, airlines officials, including President Koo Bon-hwan of Incheon International Airport Corp.

The participants shared the airport’s quarantine process information, made inspection tours on terminals and conducted a drive to strengthen preventive care against the virus.

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Harry Harris toured the 2nd terminal of Incheon International Airport on March 11 to look into a quarantine process involving U.S.-bound flight passengers.

Harris, wearing a black face mask, was briefed about the airport’s quarantine procedure from officials of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and AAIC.

The ambassador tried a thermal imaging camera first-hand. An airport official measured the body temperature of Ambassador Harris and he moved forward to a quarantine office to check his body temperature again.

He also observed the measuring of the body temperature of passengers of a flight bound for Atlanta, the United States, at 9:45 a.m., and he himself had his body temperature checked with a non-contact body infrared thermometer for a third time.

Currently, Incheon International Airport checks signs of fever of all flight passengers at the entrance of the departure lounge of each terminal to see if there is any person with his or her body temperature measuring above 37.5°C.

In a meeting with reporters at the airport, Ambassador Harris highly praised preventive care steps toward U.S. bound flight passengers, citing “the Korean model as the exemplar around the world.”.

“I appreciate the hard work that (airport staff are) doing for all of us, really, not just Americans, but everyone, as Korea works to limit the spread of COVID worldwide,” he was quoted as saying by the US Embassy in Seoul.

The ambassador said in a Twitter post later, “Terrific visit to Incheon Airport to see 1st-hand ROKG measures to combat COVID-19 & management of travelers to USA. Impressed w/ROK's robust & comprehensive response efforts to limit the virus’ spread. Thanks to all for the hard work.”

The Korean Foreign Ministry said the inspection tour by Ambassador Harris, who expressed hope to inspect into the airport’s efforts to make it COVID-19 free was arranged in cooperation among related government agencies.

IIAC Teams Up with Indonesian State-Owned Companies to Clinch Local Airport Expansion Project
Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) stgruck a “consortium agreement” with Indonesia's airport operator PT Angkasa Pura 1 (AP1) and public builder PT Wijaya Karya (WIKA) to jointly implement a project to expand the Batam Hang Nadim Airport at the Pullman Jakarta Hotel on Jan. 13.

The companies also held a workshop to share each company’s vision among them. Among about 20 participants were each company’s representatives, including IIAC President Koo Bon-hwan, API President Faik Fahmi and WIKA President Tumiyana Tumiyana.

Batam Indonesia Free Zone Authority embarked on the bidding process in May last year and plans to announce the final bidder for the expansion project by June. The final bidder will have the rights to operate the expanded Batam airport for 35 years, IIAC said.