Chuseok travel begins: Highways jammed, Incheon airport poised for passenger record
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The airport authorities said about 2.45 million travellers are expected to use the airport during the seven-day holiday period.
PHOTO: AFP
SEOUL – Highways across South Korea ground to a crawl and Incheon International Airport saw record passenger traffic on Oct 3, as millions hit the road or boarded flights on the first day of the Chuseok holiday.
Traffic congestion began on major highways in the morning, the Korea Expressway said.
As of 9am, estimated travel times from Seoul tollgates were seven hours to Busan, six hours and 30 minutes to Ulsan, six hours and 10 minutes to Mokpo, six hours to Daegu, five hours and 40 minutes to Gwangju, four hours and 10 minutes to Gangneung, and three hours and 40 minutes to Daejeon.
In the opposite direction, estimated travel times to Seoul were five hours and 10 minutes from Busan, four hours and 40 minutes from Ulsan, three hours and 40 minutes from Mokpo, four hours and 10 minutes from Daegu, three hours and 20 minutes from Gwangju, two hours and 40 minutes from Gangneung, and one hour and 33 minutes from Daejeon.
About 5.24 million vehicles were expected to be on the move nationwide, including 440,000 leaving the Seoul metropolitan area for the provinces and 430,000 travelling from the provinces into the capital region.
Traffic is projected to be heaviest on Oct 5, the day of Chuseok, with congestion expected to ease to normal levels by the afternoon of Oct 8.
Seoul Station was crowded from early morning on Oct 2 with holiday travelers heading to visit their families.
To accommodate demand, Korail has implemented special transport measures for the holiday period, which began Oct 1. The company is operating 10 additional trains a day until Oct 12, providing an average of 330,000 seats a day.
As of 8am on Oct 3, overall train reservations had reached nearly 80 per cent, with southbound routes recording a booking rate of 95.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, demand for overseas travel surged, with Incheon International Airport forecast to post a record number of passengers during the holiday. The airport authorities said about 2.45 million travellers are expected to use the airport during the seven-day holiday period from Oct 3 to Oct 9 – an average of 223,000 passengers a day.
The busiest day is expected to be Oct 3, with 129,000 outbound travellers. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
