Last year, the number of domestic and international airline passengers reached 120 million, recovering to a level close to that of before the COVID-19 transfer.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's aviation statistics on the 12th, the total number of airline passengers using domestic airports last year was 120,058,371 (31,13 for domestic flights and 88,92 for international flights), recording an increase of 19.5% compared to the previous year (100.5 million).
Last year, the number of airline passengers recovered to 97.3% of the record high of 123.36 million in 2019. From 2020 to 2022, the annual number of airline passengers reached only 29.5% to 45.3% of the 2019 figures but recovered to 81.5% in 2023 as it entered an endemic phase.
Last year, the number of domestic passengers was 3.3% lower than in 2023 and 5.6% lower than in 2019, while the number of international passengers increased by 30.2% in one year, recovering to 98.4% of 2019 levels. This is interpreted as an increase in passengers heading to closer foreign destinations instead of domestic travel due to the lifting of overseas travel restrictions.
Looking at international flight passengers by overseas region, Japan had the highest number, with 25.14 million. This is an increase of 29.7% compared to last year and 33.3% compared to 2019. The continued devaluation of the yen and the increased supply of flights from domestic and international airlines have influenced this growth.
Following Japan, China ranked second with 13.77 million passengers. The increase in Chinese passengers is attributed to the resumption of group tours for Chinese tourists to Korea and the visa waiver for Koreans, more than doubling from 6.84 million in 2023. The recovery rate compared to 2019 also rose from 37.1% to 74.7% during the same period.
Excluding Japan and China, other Asian routes saw 34.98 million passengers, an increase of 22.7% in one year, reaching 96% of the 2019 level. Routes to the Americas had 6.51 million passengers, up 16.1% from the previous year and 17.5% from 2019. The increasing demand for transfers through Incheon to the United States influenced this growth.
In the case of European routes, 4.6 million passengers used them. This is an increase of 8.4% compared to 2023, but the recovery rate remains at 69.9% compared to 2019. The impact of the Russia-Ukraine war has hindered the recovery of air travel.
Last year, international passengers by airport saw Incheon Airport (ranked first) with 70.37 million passengers, a 26.8% increase compared to one year ago. This was followed by Gimhae Airport (8.95 million) with 38.1% and Gimpo Airport (4.54 million) with 22.4% increases.
Jeju Airport (2.43 million), which saw a significant recovery, recorded an increase of 204.9%, while Cheongju Airport (1.46 million) increased by 281.2%. Daegu Airport (1.4 million) grew by 26.1%, and Muan Airport (350,000) increased by 52.8%. Yangyang Airport (17,000) saw a decrease of 32.3% as regular international flight routes were not operated last year.