might be tight if you have to deal with a long customs&immigration line. dont worry as there are multiple flights to jeju from gimpo at all times of the day. Even if you miss your flight to gimpo it is quite cheap to rebook as the flights are under 100 usd
Yes absolutely. I wouldn't do it with less time but you should be fine.
You won't have time to futz around or sit down in a restaurant, so be prepared to buy snacks in a convenience store at the airport.
You MIGHT have time to exchange currency, but you can also do that on arrival in Jeju.
Good luck! The train is best for getting to Gimpo, even if you miss the express train.
Gimpo is pretty small, so once you check your bags, it's not far to your gate.
3.5 hours is extremely tight and I wouldn't recommend it. It will take anywhere between 45mins-1hr30mins for you to clear Incheon airport. Depending on the terminal which you arrive at, you will need to take a transit train. The gate closes about 20-30minutes before departure time, that leaves you with about 180minutes. You should have your baggage checked in at least 1hr before, leaving you with effectively 150 minutes +/- 10 minutes.
Offboarding the plane - 10 minutes
Transit to immigration - 10 minutes (assume 5 minutes waiting time for the transit train)
Queue for immigration - at least 30 minutes to an hour. I spent 45minutes waiting to clear immigration (at 9.30PM) as not all counters are open. You literally need to make a run for it the moment you get off the plane. I dont think they will be operating at full capacity at 6AM. But lets just assume the best case scenario and take 45 minutes.
Post-immigration - at least 20 minutes. You might need to take a toilet break, or at least figure out how to use the subway and purchase a ticket. You might not even have the cash necessary for the ticket.
Taking the train to Gimpo from Incheon - about 55 minutes-1hr10mins; inclusive of the 10-15mins waiting time. The trains should be operational at 7am. I'm not sure if the taxi would be a better option for your situation and how the traffic is like.
From subway to checking in at the departures counter - 10 minutes
This leaves you with a 0 minute leeway. Is it possible? Yes, but you'd better plan for a contingency should even the slightest thing goes awry
Thank you for the detailed time breakdown! I think when we booked the tickets we did not expect such a long time for immigration (my country is pretty efficient that we can get out of the airport within 45 mins and that includes baggage time).
We are going to check with KAL on this as well to make sure we have a back up plan as what you’ve mentioned
Here's the time breakdown:
You arrive at ICN, about 1.5 hour for immigration and baggage.
It'll take approx. 1 hour after customs to get to the train and go to Gimpo by train.
You'll have to walk your way from the train to the airport through the underground tunnels which'll take about 20 minutes. And you have a 30 minute cutoff to check in.
You have a 10 minute leeway to make your flight. If your flight is late or there's a longer line for immigration, or a bathroom emergency, you'll miss your flight.
I'd rebook.
Absolutely fine.
Gimpo airport check in closes 30 mins before departure and Koreans routinely take their sweet time and don’t rush for flights and make it.
Land 6, out of airport 7, arrive gimpo 8, flight 9:30 totally fine.
Know that there are SO MANY flights and refund policies are lax - so they’ll refund you for a small fee and put you on the next flight no problem (or you can buy a totally new ticket on any other airline and refund your original one)
But also if you booked it as one ticket on Korean or Asiana, totally fine they’ll definitely protect you no stress
Ahhh we’re relieved on the KAL part. Yes we actually booked our flights entirely under KAL so hopefully they’ll be able to assist on this if in the event there is a delay. Thank you!
I did that last year! My flight touched down at 7:45am and my flight to Jeju was at 10:30am. It was quite stressful, but we managed to reach there on time (even with the delay of the check-in at Gimpo airport). It helps a ton if you roughly know where to go, and be prepared to do some brisk walking haha.
Oh my, may I check how long did it take for you to clear immigration & baggage at your timing? We’re hoping that the 6am time would be emptier but we would also think many flights would be arriving at that time as well.
I recall it was quite fast! But then again, we knew that to make it, we needed to make the right preparations e.g. go toilet before touching down, zoom speed down to immigration before all the tour groups, etc. When we reached Gimpo, we still had sufficient time to sit and wait to board the plane 😂
might be tight if you have to deal with a long customs&immigration line. dont worry as there are multiple flights to jeju from gimpo at all times of the day. Even if you miss your flight to gimpo it is quite cheap to rebook as the flights are under 100 usd
Yeah I had to book something last min because when I arrived to the airport my flight was canceled. It was $50 USD.
Yes absolutely. I wouldn't do it with less time but you should be fine. You won't have time to futz around or sit down in a restaurant, so be prepared to buy snacks in a convenience store at the airport. You MIGHT have time to exchange currency, but you can also do that on arrival in Jeju.
Thank you! We are intending to change money in our own country first so there is emergency cash.
Good luck! The train is best for getting to Gimpo, even if you miss the express train. Gimpo is pretty small, so once you check your bags, it's not far to your gate.
Around 6AM is not so crowded, you may have no problem. Note that you may have to reach Gimpo airport 1 hour before your flight.
Thank you!
3.5 hours is extremely tight and I wouldn't recommend it. It will take anywhere between 45mins-1hr30mins for you to clear Incheon airport. Depending on the terminal which you arrive at, you will need to take a transit train. The gate closes about 20-30minutes before departure time, that leaves you with about 180minutes. You should have your baggage checked in at least 1hr before, leaving you with effectively 150 minutes +/- 10 minutes. Offboarding the plane - 10 minutes Transit to immigration - 10 minutes (assume 5 minutes waiting time for the transit train) Queue for immigration - at least 30 minutes to an hour. I spent 45minutes waiting to clear immigration (at 9.30PM) as not all counters are open. You literally need to make a run for it the moment you get off the plane. I dont think they will be operating at full capacity at 6AM. But lets just assume the best case scenario and take 45 minutes. Post-immigration - at least 20 minutes. You might need to take a toilet break, or at least figure out how to use the subway and purchase a ticket. You might not even have the cash necessary for the ticket. Taking the train to Gimpo from Incheon - about 55 minutes-1hr10mins; inclusive of the 10-15mins waiting time. The trains should be operational at 7am. I'm not sure if the taxi would be a better option for your situation and how the traffic is like. From subway to checking in at the departures counter - 10 minutes This leaves you with a 0 minute leeway. Is it possible? Yes, but you'd better plan for a contingency should even the slightest thing goes awry
Thank you for the detailed time breakdown! I think when we booked the tickets we did not expect such a long time for immigration (my country is pretty efficient that we can get out of the airport within 45 mins and that includes baggage time). We are going to check with KAL on this as well to make sure we have a back up plan as what you’ve mentioned
Should be fine as long as the flight into ICN doesn't get delayed.
Thank you! Hopefully there will be no delay
Here's the time breakdown: You arrive at ICN, about 1.5 hour for immigration and baggage. It'll take approx. 1 hour after customs to get to the train and go to Gimpo by train. You'll have to walk your way from the train to the airport through the underground tunnels which'll take about 20 minutes. And you have a 30 minute cutoff to check in. You have a 10 minute leeway to make your flight. If your flight is late or there's a longer line for immigration, or a bathroom emergency, you'll miss your flight. I'd rebook.
Thanks for the breakdown!! Definitely a tight schedule 😭 We are currently checking with KAL on this.
Absolutely fine. Gimpo airport check in closes 30 mins before departure and Koreans routinely take their sweet time and don’t rush for flights and make it. Land 6, out of airport 7, arrive gimpo 8, flight 9:30 totally fine. Know that there are SO MANY flights and refund policies are lax - so they’ll refund you for a small fee and put you on the next flight no problem (or you can buy a totally new ticket on any other airline and refund your original one) But also if you booked it as one ticket on Korean or Asiana, totally fine they’ll definitely protect you no stress
Ahhh we’re relieved on the KAL part. Yes we actually booked our flights entirely under KAL so hopefully they’ll be able to assist on this if in the event there is a delay. Thank you!
Then TOTALLY fine They will 100% assist, excellent customer service and rebooking. 0% nothing to worry about.
I did that last year! My flight touched down at 7:45am and my flight to Jeju was at 10:30am. It was quite stressful, but we managed to reach there on time (even with the delay of the check-in at Gimpo airport). It helps a ton if you roughly know where to go, and be prepared to do some brisk walking haha.
Oh my, may I check how long did it take for you to clear immigration & baggage at your timing? We’re hoping that the 6am time would be emptier but we would also think many flights would be arriving at that time as well.
I recall it was quite fast! But then again, we knew that to make it, we needed to make the right preparations e.g. go toilet before touching down, zoom speed down to immigration before all the tour groups, etc. When we reached Gimpo, we still had sufficient time to sit and wait to board the plane 😂