Check-in system malfunction at Incheon airport causes major delays

A check-in system malfunction occurred at Incheon International Airport on Friday, causing major delays in passenger processing, the airport operator said. The malfunction began at 4:30 a.m. in an airline network connecting ticketing systems at the country's main gateway, leading to intermittent connectivity issues at eight airlines at Terminal 1 and five airlines at Terminal 2, according to Incheon International Airport Corp. By afternoon, ticketing was effectively halted at three airlines — China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Air China. Long lines of passengers formed at check-in counters, with some protesting that their airlines were not informing them of expected recovery times despite their approaching departures. The airport operator said the disruption appeared to have been caused by a glitch in the global network of American aviation service provider ARINC and that it was looking for solutions.