This year's first half saw more than 46 million international passengers using airports in Korea, the highest figure ever recorded for the first half of the year.
According to aviation statistics compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Incheon International Airport Corporation, and Korea Airports Corporation on the 6th, a total of 46,029,842 international passengers departed from and arrived at domestic airports between January and June this year. This figure represents a 7.6% increase over last year's first half (approximately 42.77 million) and surpasses the record from the first half of 2019 (45.56 million).
During the same period, the number of international flights operated was 264,253, marking a 5.6% increase compared to the same period last year and exceeding the level in 2019 (263,681 flights).
By country, the increase in routes to China was the largest. The number of passengers using the Korea-China route was about 7.81 million, an increase of approximately 1.52 million (24.3%) compared to the same period last year. This is analyzed to be influenced by the implementation of visa exemptions for Koreans in November last year. The government plans to temporarily promote visa exemptions for group tourists from China in the third quarter of this year, suggesting that this trend will continue for the time being.
The route to Japan also showed an upward trend. In the first half of this year, approximately 13.43 million international passengers traveled to Japan, an increase of 1.2 million (9.9%) compared to the same period last year. Analysts suggest that the prolonged weak yen, along with airlines expanding regional routes to Japan, has contributed to this trend.
Demand for long-haul routes is also showing signs of recovery. The number of passengers on North American routes was about 3.32 million (7.8%), European routes saw 2.25 million (3%), and Middle Eastern routes recorded 530,000 (5.2%).
By airport, Incheon Airport accounted for about 78% of all international flights, serving around 36.11 million passengers, while the other six regional airports (Gimpo, Gimhae, Jeju, Cheongju, Daegu, Yangyang) served a total of about 9.91 million international flights.
Among regional airports, Gimhae Airport had the highest number of passengers at 4.92 million, followed by Gimpo (2.13 million), Jeju (1.34 million), Cheongju (780,000), and Daegu (710,000). In contrast, Yangyang Airport saw a decrease from 6,963 passengers last year to 6,007 this year, a reduction of 13.7%.
Meanwhile, Mu-an Airport, which was used by about 190,000 passengers last year, had no passengers in the first half of this year following the suspension of operations due to an airplane accident that occurred at the end of last year.