Rise in transfer passengers from Manila to Incheon expected

MANILA, Philippines - South Korea expects transfer passengers to the Incheon airport from Manila to rise amid new services being offered to enhance travel experience and an increase in flight seats between the country and the Philippines, airport officials said.

ST Lim, deputy director at the Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) said in a seminar on Monday night that they want to attract more transfer passengers to the airport from Manila as the airport serves as a transfer point to several cities around the world and has numerous services to offer.

“More than 300,000 passengers from Manila transferred to Incheon airport last year. We want to have more transfer passengers from Manila as we show that transferring in Incheon is not just about waiting but [that it] can be fun,” he said.

He said that the airport connects 170 cities in 50 countries in the world.

Kwanghee Yang, manager of the aviation marketing group of IIAC said in the same event that they expect an increase in the number of transfer passengers from Manila to the Incheon airport given the available facilities and services offered in the airport, which are not available elsewhere.

“The transfer usually takes four hours, but the people don’t get bored because there are a lot of things they can enjoy in the airport,” she said.

SK Song, assistant manager of the aviation marketing team of IIAC, said that the airport had just recently started offering new services for transfer passengers.

He said that while the airport has had free showers for passengers since 2006, the airport recently started providing shower kits for free to transfer passengers.

He said that apart from free showers and shower kits, transfer passengers can also spend their time waiting for their next flight by going to an internet cafe where they can rent tablets or computers for free by simply showing their boarding passes.

The airport, he said, likewise has a kids zone and nursery where transfer passengers can play video games with their children at no cost.

The airport, he said, also has a news and movie room which is open 24 hours, as well as reclining chairs for transfer passengers waiting for their flights.

He said transfer passengers could go shopping as the airport has 70 stores and carries 400 brands.

“The Incheon airport holds traditional shows everyday. There are traditional performances transfer passengers can watch and we have a museum and do-it-yourself craft,” he said.

He said transfer passengers could also have transit tours and go around Seoul while waiting for their flight.

Yang said that the IIAC is investing a lot in its facilities to make sure that passengers are given good service.

“Our facilities are state-of-the-art. We invest and put a lot of efforts in services,” she said.

Earlier this year, Incheon airport received the Best Airport Worldwide title given by Airports Council International for the seventh year for providing service beyond customer expectation.

Yang said that apart from the services offered by the airport, they also expect more transfer passengers from Manila given the increase in weekly flight seats between South Korea and the Philippines.