'Baggage-Free Transfers' Introduced at Los Angeles and Seattle Airports... Transfer Times Expected to Be Cut by 20 Minutes

Expansion of Remote Baggage Screening
For Korean Air and Delta Air Lines Passengers

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on June 23 that it will expand the implementation of the Inbound Remote Baggage Screening (IRBS) for checked baggage on flights departing from Incheon International Airport and arriving at Los Angeles and Seattle airports, in addition to the existing destinations of Atlanta, Detroit, and Minneapolis in the United States.

Going forward, transfer passengers traveling on the Incheon-Los Angeles or Incheon-Seattle routes will be able to board connecting flights without having to collect their baggage, which is expected to reduce transfer times by at least 20 minutes. In particular, at Seattle Airport, where passengers must usually collect their baggage before immigration and customs inspections, the omission of baggage collection is expected to significantly enhance passenger convenience.

Previously, passengers transferring at Los Angeles and Seattle airports experienced inconvenience, as their baggage was not automatically transferred. They were required to collect their baggage themselves, go through customs inspections and random baggage checks, and then re-check their baggage at the transfer airline’s check-in counter.

This measure was made possible through cooperation between the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The two countries have agreed to simplify transfer procedures and improve passenger convenience by utilizing advanced aviation security technology for remote screening of checked baggage.

The remote baggage screening will be implemented for passengers of Korean Air and Delta Air Lines who meet certain criteria set by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). This will apply not only to direct flights from Incheon to Los Angeles and Seattle, but also to transfer passengers who depart from a third country, connect through Incheon, and then travel onward to the United States.

Currently, Korean Air operates three flights per day on the Incheon-Los Angeles route, while Korean Air and Delta Air Lines each operate one flight per day on the Incheon-Seattle route. As of last year, the total number of passengers on these two routes was 421,000. Of these, 127,000 passengers—accounting for 30.1% of the total—transferred at Los Angeles or Seattle airports.

Lee Sangheon, Director of Airport Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, stated, "Based on mutual trust and cooperation in aviation security between the two countries, we will expand this service to other major airports in the United States and gradually increase the number of participating airlines, so that more passengers can benefit."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.