By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-08-07 12:36:54 | Updated at 2026-08-07 13:33:53
58 minutes ago
SEOUL– As South Korea battles a record-breaking heatwave, Incheon International Airport is emerging as an informal cooling refuge for people with nowhere more convenient to escape the heat.
Media reports over the past week have highlighted seniors spending hours inside the terminals playing games, sharing packed lunches and resting on benches.
The appeal of the airports appears to be practical: the terminals offer air-conditioning, seating, free Wi-Fi, charging facilities and restrooms, while South Koreans aged 65 and older can reach the airport by subway without having to pay.
Airport Railroad data shows senior ridership has risen in recent years. Older passengers made 1.65 million trips on the line in July, up 7 per cent from a year earlier and more than 20 per cent from July 2024. The figures do not indicate how many of those trips were made specifically to escape the heat.
Yet the airport is far from the only place available to cool off. The popularity of airports has led to questions about whether government heat-relief measures are reaching the people they are intended to protect.
The local media has highlighted a lack of awareness among seniors about cooling shelters provided by local authorities, and pointed out that most require people to pay to use them.
About 70 per cent of the 4,034 cooling shelters operated by Seoul city operated on a membership basis, while only 202 were explicitly designated as open to everyone.
Rough sleepers have also been staying at Incheon airport during the extreme heat, presenting a more complex challenge for airport operators.
Incheon Airport Operations Service, which manages airport operations, divides stays by homeless people into short-term and long-term, the latter referring to stay of two weeks or more. Across Terminals 1 and 2, the service said their numbers can range from dozens to as many as 200.
Extended stays by a growing number of non-travellers have increased cleaning, waste-management and monitoring demands for airport operators.
Although officials may intervene when behaviour disrupts airport operations or inconveniences travellers, and can issue departure notices under the Airport Facilities Act, airport staff still rely largely on persuasion and outreach, including attempts in some cases to contact family members.
Incheon airport said it remains a public facility open to everyone and that it continues to manage the terminals to prevent inconvenience to travellers. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
