With the new simplified service, passengers who have already selected their seats and have electronic boarding passes will only have go through a passport check at the departure gate. (image: Kristofer Palmvik)
SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – International passengers who purchase Internet or mobile flight tickets will soon be able to shorten their boarding process by up to 30 minutes at Korean airports.
On December 22, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that it is implementing a simplified boarding process service for international passengers with e-tickets by sharing passengers’ information with airport authorities.
In the past, all international passengers, even those who had purchased tickets online, had to visit check-in counters and complete an identity check to receive their boarding passes. However, with the new simplified service, passengers who have already selected their seats and have electronic boarding passes will only have go through a passport check at the departure gate.
The ministry has already been offering the electronic verification system for domestic flight passengers at 14 airports since July 2010. Since then, it has installed 22 verification systems at Incheon airport and 4 more at Gimpo airport for international passengers. Other international airports such as Gimhae International Airport and Jeju International Airport will be equipped with the systems starting next year.
A ministry official said, “With the service, passengers will be able to save up to 30 minutes for their boarding process, enhancing their passenger experience, while airlines can increase their efficiency with reduced crowds at check-in counters.”
The ministry revised the Aviation Safety and Security Act last April, enabling the airlines and airport authority to share passenger boarding process information.
By John Choi (johnchoi@koreabizwire.com)
