(LEAD) Check-in system at Incheon airport restored after hourslong disruption

INCHEON, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) -- A check-in system malfunction that occurred at Incheon International Airport was fully resolved by Friday afternoon, the airport operator said, after causing major delays in passenger processing.

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 for eight airlines at Terminal 1 and five airlines at Terminal 2, according to Incheon International Airport Corp.

By the afternoon, ticketing was effectively halted at three airlines -- China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Air China.

The airport later said all three had resumed ticketing operations.

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.

As of 5 p.m., 38 flights had been delayed, leaving some 1,200 travelers stranded.

The airport operator said the disruption appeared to have been caused by a glitch in the global network of American aviation service provider ARINC.