Incheon Airport Records 'All-Time High' Passenger Traffic of 71.17 Million in 2019... Cargo Performance Down 6%

Passenger Increase in All Regions Except Japan... Transfer Passengers Also Achieve Record High
Freight Sector Slumps... Freight Performance Drops 6.4% Due to US-China Trade Dispute

The Year of the Rat is rising above Incheon International Airport. Incheon International Airport has launched the fourth phase of construction, including the expansion of Terminal 2 and the addition of a fourth runway, to strengthen its status as a hub airport in response to the increasing demand for domestic and international air passengers. The expansion project is expected to be completed in 2024, elevating the airport to one of the world's top three airports.
Yeongjongdo - Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Incheon International Airport surpassed 70 million international passengers last year, maintaining its position as the world's 5th ranked airport for the second consecutive year.

Incheon International Airport Corporation announced on the 9th that the number of international passengers using Incheon Airport last year was preliminarily estimated at 70,578,050, a 4.3% increase compared to the same period the previous year. The total number of passengers, including domestic flights, was recorded at 71,169,722.

According to the corporation, by region, ▲China 13.58 million (11.9% increase) ▲Southeast Asia 21.28 million (11.7%) ▲Europe 6.36 million (8.6%) ▲Oceania 3.09 million (1.5%) ▲Middle East & South Asia 1.42 million (1.1%) ▲Northeast Asia (excluding China and Japan) 7.38 million (0.5%) continued their growth trends.

Specifically, the Japan route, which has seen a sharp decline in demand due to the boycott movement stemming from Korea-Japan tensions, was the only region to show a decrease, with 11.85 million passengers, down 11.7% from the previous year. The Japan route showed growth of 0 to 4.9% until July this year, but since August, it has experienced a monthly decline of 19.5 to 39.5%.

Transit passengers also reached a record high of 8,389,136, a 4.6% increase compared to the previous year. Transit passengers increased by 1.5 to 10.5% in most regions except China and Oceania. A corporation official explained, "In the case of China (6.2% decrease), the decline was partly due to the opening of many direct flights from China and the increase in direct passenger demand following the lifting of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) measures."

Unlike the growth in the passenger sector, the cargo sector continued to struggle. Last year, Incheon Airport's air cargo volume was 2,764,350 tons, a 6.4% decrease compared to 2018. By region, air cargo transport performance also declined across all regions: ▲Japan 240,000 tons (19.6% decrease) ▲Americas 590,000 tons (7.3%) ▲China 500,000 tons (5.3%) ▲Europe 510,000 tons (5.3%).

A corporation official stated, "This is interpreted as the impact of the spread of protectionism such as the US-China trade dispute and the resulting economic downturn," adding, "However, the international cargo transport ranking is expected to maintain 3rd place following Hong Kong and Shanghai."

Meanwhile, the corporation estimated that due to the increase in international passengers, last year's sales reached 2.769 trillion KRW and operating profit was 1.3141 trillion KRW. This represents increases of 4.4% and 2.0%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.