Korean Air, Delta expand remote baggage screening to Seattle and LA

Korean Air and Delta Air Lines announced Tuesday they are expanding their International Remote Baggage Screening service to the Seoul (Incheon)–Seattle and Seoul (Incheon)–Los Angeles routes.

The IRBS system transmits X-ray images of US-bound baggage from the departure airport to US Customs and Border Protection, which analyzes the images in advance. CBP conducts the baggage inspection while passengers are still in the air, allowing for a streamlined entry process upon landing.

Passengers on IRBS-enabled flights are exempt from random baggage searches and customs inspections upon arrival at US airports, enabling faster entry. Those connecting onward within the United States are also spared the step of rechecking their bags at the first US port of entry.

Under what the airlines call Seamless Baggage Transfer, luggage is automatically forwarded to the final destination airport. The service can cut transit times by up to 20 minutes.

Travelers connecting through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport stand to benefit most. Under the current process, connecting passengers must collect their bags, clear immigration and recheck luggage for their onward flight — a time-consuming sequence. With IRBS, those passengers can proceed directly to immigration and board their connecting flight without handling their bags.

With the expansion, Korean Air and Delta can now offer seamless travel across five major US hub airports — Atlanta, Detroit and Minneapolis, now joined by Seattle and Los Angeles.

The service is available not only to passengers departing from Incheon International Airport but also to those transiting through Incheon from other countries and regions. Transit passengers simply check their bags at their original departure airport and collect them at their final destination.

"Korean Air is expanding connectivity between Korea and the United States through our joint venture partnership with Delta," said Ko Kwang-ho, head of Korean Air's passenger business division. "We will continue working to provide customers with a more convenient and consistent premium travel experience centered on the Incheon International Airport hub."

Jeff Moomaw, Delta's senior vice president for Asia Pacific, said the Seamless Baggage Transfer service "significantly simplifies the transit experience for customers traveling to the United States." He added that expanding the service to Seattle and Los Angeles would allow customers to move more efficiently and make better use of their layover time.

Korean Air and Delta joined the IRBS project, a cooperative initiative between the South Korean and US governments, and launched the service on the Seoul (Incheon)–Atlanta route in August 2025. Surveys conducted since the rollout confirmed measurable improvements in passenger convenience.

Since IRBS was introduced, interactions with customs officers upon arrival at US airports have fallen by more than 65 percent. A significant number of delayed-arrival passengers who previously missed connecting flights due to the baggage rechecking process have also successfully made their connections.

A Korean Air spokesperson said the route expansion was part of a broader strategy to strengthen the two carriers' aviation networks, improve customer service, deliver premium offerings and drive operational innovation. Both airlines will explore extending the service to additional overseas airports in the future, the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, Korean Air has been pursuing a range of other customer convenience improvements. In April, it expanded its mobile app's "Airport Preview" feature — previously limited to Incheon International Airport — to cover all domestic airports the airline serves.

Those efforts have earned recognition: in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's 2025 Air Transport Service Evaluation, Korean Air received the top A+ rating in the operational reliability category and posted the highest customer satisfaction score of 6.07 points.