Incheon Airport Surpasses 100,000 Daily Passengers... "First Time in 2 Years and 9 Months"

On the 2nd, the departure hall at Incheon Airport is crowded with travelers following the lifting of the mandatory first-day PCR test for overseas arrivals. / Yeongjongdo - Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] The daily passenger count at Incheon International Airport has surpassed 100,000.

Incheon International Airport Corporation announced on the 21st that the daily passenger count at Incheon Airport was tentatively recorded at 101,404 on the 20th. This is the first time in 2 years and 9 months since the daily passenger count fell below 100,000 on February 18, 2020. Notably, this milestone was achieved about 40 days earlier than initially expected by the corporation.

The daily passenger volume at Incheon Airport has rapidly grown from surpassing 50,000 on June 30 to reaching 100,000 in just four and a half months. This figure exceeds 50% of the daily average of 194,986 passengers recorded in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The main reason for this increase is the easing of COVID-19 entry restrictions and the resumption of visa-free travel in major Asian countries such as Japan and Taiwan. There were concerns that demand recovery at Incheon Airport would be slow due to continued lockdowns in China. However, the corporation analyzed that recovery is progressing faster than expected as airlines have redirected aircraft previously deployed on Chinese routes to other regions like Japan and Southeast Asia, where travel demand is rapidly recovering.

As of the second week of November, the flight load factor at Incheon Airport stands at about 76.6%, compared to 81.4% during the same period in 2019 before the pandemic, indicating there is still room in available seats. According to submissions from airlines regarding desired flight frequencies for next year's summer season (late March to late October), the expected number of flights during this period is 263,004, which is a 12.5% increase compared to 233,650 flights in the summer of 2019 before the pandemic. Additional seat supply expansion through new routes and increased flights by airlines is also expected to grow rapidly.

Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, stated, “Although demand recovery is progressing faster than initially expected, it is still slower compared to airports in the Americas and Europe,” adding, “We will contribute to continuously lowering and stabilizing airfares through airport-level marketing activities aimed at increasing air supply so that air travel demand can recover smoothly.”

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