Madoka

I still have a lot of KF94 masks leftover, so I want to know how many of them I can bring back with me,

I see that Korean Air still lists 30 masks maximum in carry on luggage, but Asiana does not list a mask limit on their website.

Did this limitation go away now that there is plentiful supply?

Assuming there is a restriction, If it's a reusable mask with five replacement filters, is that counted as one mask or five?

OccasionallyFlying

The 30 mask rule is a Korean government rule. Incheon security will open your carry on baggage and individually count how many masks you are taking out of the country.

Madoka

I guess the obvious question then is, what if you just packed them in your checked luggage?

mikesaidyes

They will ABSOLUTELY check them and they know what's going on haha. They'll definitely call you out and make you throw extras away or whatever. Mask supply regulation is a big thing of course here. I mean they're not gonna arrest you if you go over, but do expect them to be taken.

OccasionallyFlying

A little late but here's my experience when I flew out of Incheon in May:

The check in agent asked every passenger to stay at the designated seating area next to check-in while Incheon security clears your bags. If you don't get called within 10 minutes, you are free to go to security, otherwise the airline check-in staff will page you and give you back the masks. It is almost impossible to smuggle any masks in your checked baggage as they have methods to detect masks, whether by X-Ray or by baggage inspection. I've seen multiple people try to take masks out but were not allowed.

At the security checkpoint, the security personnel asked you how many masks you had in your bag and asked you to point to the bag that had all the masks in it. They then opened your bag and counted every mask individually. If you had 30 or less masks, you were free to go.

When I left the country, cloth and non-KF masks were allowed out in infinite quantities AFAIK. However, I understand via relatives that left the country in June that this rule may have changed. It is best to call Incheon airport to get the most up to date information before you depart.

Madoka

Here was my experience. My daughter left first. When we took her bag to get the masks counted, the guy looked up from his cell phone and slapped a sticker on her carry-on saying that she was checked without even looking. I asked him if he wanted to count (there was exactly 30 in her bag) and he said no, and went back to looking on his phone.

A week later I went. The woman actually opened my bag and rifled through everything and did a quick count. When my son went, she just asked him how many he had and put the sticker on his bag without actually counting them.

So it seems how much they care is pretty inconsistent. I get the sense that they just want to stop the Chinese resellers from trying to take hundreds of masks.

mikesaidyes

Also know that, at least at ICN - the bag Xray people will check and pull them out. Of course at other airports like USA they probably have 0 clue about the rules and don't give one flying you know what haha