34 Million International Passengers in First Half of Year... 40% Increase Compared to Last Year

Strong Demand from Japan and Southeast Asia... China Also Showing Recovery Trend

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The number of international passengers using Incheon Airport in the first half of this year exceeded 34 million. The sustained popularity of short-haul routes such as Japan and Southeast Asia, along with the recovery of Chinese routes, played a key role.

On the 19th, Incheon International Airport Corporation announced that the number of international passengers in the first half of this year reached 34,048,517, a 39.5% increase compared to the same period last year. This figure is 96.6% of the 35,258,765 passengers recorded in the first half of 2019, before COVID-19. On February 25, during the winter peak season and the arrival period of international students, the airport recorded the highest daily passenger count since COVID-19, with 213,351 passengers.

Incheon International Airport Corporation analyzed that this was due to "the effect of the winter peak season at the beginning of the year, continued preference for short-haul routes such as Southeast Asia and Japan, and the recovery trend of Chinese route passengers."

By region, Southeast Asia accounted for 10,468,345 passengers. Among individual countries, Japan had the highest number with 8,543,501 passengers. This was followed by ▲China with 4,628,310 ▲the Americas with 3,084,670 ▲and Northeast Asia with 3,049,724 passengers. Notably, the Chinese route showed a sharp recovery since last year, reaching 71.3% of the 6,490,698 passengers recorded in the first half of 2019.

The total number of international flights in the first half of the year was 198,079, a 34.0% increase compared to the same period last year. This already surpasses the 197,639 flights recorded in the first half of 2019, before COVID-19. This is attributed not only to passenger flights but also to the continued operation of cargo flights, which increased during the COVID-19 period.

The number of transfer passengers was 4,037,475, a 19.7% increase compared to the same period last year. This is 97.1% of the 4,159,074 transfer passengers recorded in the first half of 2019. This increase is seen as a result of rising demand for transfers at Incheon on China-America routes following the US-China tensions.

Regarding international air cargo, the performance in the first half of this year was 1,447,358 tons, a 10.1% increase compared to the same period last year. The rebound that began in the third quarter of last year has continued, supported by the increase in e-commerce cargo volume.

Lee Hak-jae, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, said, "We will complete the fourth phase expansion project scheduled for the end of this year on time and accelerate airport service innovation such as digital transformation based on the newly declared Vision 2040."

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