Tourists, airport workers heartened on 1st day of quarantine exemption for fully vaccinated arrivals

Tourists and airport workers were heartened Monday as the country’s nearly two-year-long mandatory quarantine for international travelers was lifted for fully vaccinated people.

Starting Monday, those who completed their vaccination no more than 180 days ago or got a third booster shot will no longer be subject to a seven-day self-quarantine upon arrival from overseas, except those coming from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Myanmar.

The quarantine exemption is expected to open up international travel for South Koreans nearly two years after the first COVID-19 outbreak here and subsequent self-quarantine requirements on international arrivals.

Travelers wait in line to check out at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, on March 21, 2022, the first day of the abolition of the quarantine for fully vaccinated international travelers. (Yonhap)

“We were going to go ahead with our honeymoon anyway despite any quarantine requirements, but the latest relaxation measure made our trip far easier and less burdensome,” said Hong Seok-woo, a 30-something newlywed, who was waiting to board a flight with his wife Lee Eun-seon at Terminal 1.

“I was anxious about getting a positive PCR test result, which would have forced the cancellation of the trip. But with a negative result, combined with other positive news, we will have a wonderful honeymoon,” he said.

A 45-year-old businessman, who identified himself by his family name Kim, said, “The latest measure took a load off my work,” having had to call off business trips to the United States due to quarantine requirements.

Workers at airport facilities also voiced hopes the quarantine relaxation would bring back customers and revive their businesses.

“I am expecting the abolition of the quarantine possibly to bring back customers,” said Lee Jin-key, a restaurant manager at the airport. “I am developing a new menu and planning to increase our grocery orders while employing one more server.”

A manager at another airport restaurant was more cautious in painting a rosy picture, saying, “There may be more customers on the whole, but it will probably be after April before customers (fully) come back.”

The departure gates at Terminal 1 remained quiet on the first day of the quarantine relaxation, with many check-out counters closed.

Industry watchers predict the country may take some time to regain the pre-COVID-19 level of international travel amid soaring oil prices and a possible wave of “stealth omicron.”

An average 12,565 people traveled via Incheon International Airport every day in the first 20 days of March, only about 5 percent of the corresponding numbers of 200,000 to 230,000 seen before the pandemic, according to airport officials.