Pathogens repeatedly found on flights to Incheon as in-flight hygiene inspections drop by half

Infectious disease pathogens — including Shigella dysenteriae and enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli — have repeatedly been detected aboard international flights arriving at Incheon International Airport, even as in-flight hygiene inspections have fallen sharply, data show.

Particularly concerning, pathogens capable of causing food poisoning were found on fold-down tray tables where passengers eat and place personal belongings, prompting calls to strengthen in-flight sanitation management and quarantine systems.

According to data submitted to Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Heo Jong-sik — a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee representing Incheon's Dong-gu and Michuhol-gu Gap district — by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, all two cases of Shigella dysenteriae and two cases of enterohemorrhagic E. coli detected on international flights nationwide in 2023 were found on aircraft arriving at Incheon Airport.

Both diseases are classified as Category 2 legally notifiable infectious diseases. Heo said bacterial dysentery can spread from even a small number of bacteria and carries a risk of triggering mass outbreaks, making in-flight hygiene management critical.

Pathogens were also found on fold-down tray tables that come into direct contact with passengers' hands and food.

Both pathogen cases detected on tray tables aboard international flights nationwide since 2024 were confirmed on flights arriving at Incheon Airport.

Salmonella was detected on a flight from the Philippines in September 2024, while enterotoxigenic E. coli was found on a flight from Ethiopia in December last year. Both bacteria can cause gastrointestinal illnesses including food poisoning and diarrhea.

Detections of enterohemorrhagic E. coli continued as well. Following the two cases confirmed nationwide in 2023, the pathogen was found on two additional flights from the Philippines and one from Ethiopia in 2024.

The bacterium was also detected on a flight from Ethiopia in February this year, accounting for the sole confirmed case nationwide in the first half of this year — again on a flight arriving at Incheon Airport.

By country of departure, the data suggest that routes from Ethiopia, India and the Philippines warrant particular attention.

Every flight from Ethiopia and India on which pathogens were detected since 2024 was bound for Incheon Airport.

In 2024, pathogens were confirmed on 22 flights from Ethiopia, yielding 40 detections, and on 22 flights from India, yielding 38 detections.

Last year, pathogens were found on six flights from Ethiopia and one from India. In the first half of this year, two flights each from the two countries tested positive.

Among flights arriving at Incheon Airport, those from the Philippines stood out for the scale of detections. In 2024, 119 pathogens were confirmed across 86 flights from the Philippines.

Detections also frequently involved multiple pathogen types found simultaneously on a single aircraft.

An analysis of flight-by-flight KDCA data by Heo's office found that 198 pathogens were detected across 131 flights arriving at Incheon Airport in 2024, with 29 of those flights carrying two or more distinct pathogen types at the same time.

A clear seasonal pattern also emerged. During June and July 2024 alone, 85 pathogens were detected on 51 flights arriving at Incheon Airport.

From July 2023 through June this year, 329 flights nationwide tested positive for pathogens, of which 235 — or 71.4 percent — were arriving at Incheon Airport.

Despite a pledge to expand inspections, the number of flights inspected nationwide fell from 1,947 in 2024 to 975 last year. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency had announced in July 2024, when releasing the results of a pilot program, that it would expand the items tested, the sampling locations and the number of aircraft subject to inspection — yet the inspection count was cut roughly in half within a year.

The number of flights inspected in the first half of this year was limited to 498.

Sampling locations also remain confined to just two spots: the in-cabin toilet and the fold-down tray table. Frequently touched surfaces such as armrests, overhead bin handles and lavatory door handles are excluded from inspections, drawing criticism that the scope of testing must be broadened.

"Even as infectious disease pathogens and tray table contamination have been confirmed on flights arriving at Incheon Airport, hygiene inspections have been sharply reduced — contrary to the original plan to expand them," Heo said. "Inspections must be strengthened, focusing on Incheon-bound flights from Ethiopia, India and the Philippines, where pathogen detections are most frequent."

Heo added that authorities should disclose whether aircraft on which pathogens were detected were disinfected and what follow-up tests showed, and should conduct intensive inspections during the summer months when detections are concentrated. "Sampling points should be expanded to surfaces that passengers touch frequently, and we need to check whether the Incheon Airport National Quarantine Station has sufficient on-site personnel and equipment to put effective measures in place," he said.