ARINC network fault disrupts check-in for airlines at Incheon Airport

On 30 October 2026, South Korea's main international hub, Incheon Airport, suffered a check-in disruption that began in the early morning. Airline communication links became unstable, and staff at some counters struggled to issue boarding passes through the shared system.

The airport operator, Incheon International Airport Corporation, attributed the problem to instability in the network of ARINC, a US-based aviation communications provider. Incheon has used ARINC's common-use check-in platform, which lets many airlines share counters and software, since 2014. Officials said a cyberattack looked unlikely because only certain airlines were affected.

Chinese carriers were hit hardest. Their regular ticketing was effectively halted for hours before services resumed in the evening. Dozens of flights were delayed and travellers were left waiting in the terminals. Reports differed on the exact number of airlines and flights affected.

The incident mattered because it exposed how dependent a major airport is on a single outside network provider. It also prompted questions about Incheon's crisis readiness, and it was the first of several departure-system problems that followed in the next days.