S. Korea: Int'l air passengers reach record high in first half

A total of 46,029,842 passengers arrived in or left South Korea via international flights between January and June, up 7.6 percent from the same period last year, according to the data compiled by the land ministry, Incheon International Airport Corp. and Korea Airports Corp.

The figure surpassed the previous record of 45.5 million posted in the first half of 2019.

The number of international flights during the six-month period also increased 5.6 percent on-year, also outpacing the previous first-half record set in 2019.

China posted the largest number of air passengers to and from South Korea, with 7.81 million passengers traveling between the two countries via air in the first six months of the year, up 24.3 percent from a year earlier.

Such a sharp increase was partly attributed to the visa-exemption program China implemented for South Korean visitors in November.

Japan followed next, with the number of travelers to and from South Korea jumping 9.9 percent on-year.

Japan has seen a constant wave of South Korean travelers due to a weak yen and, more recently, due to an expansion of flight routes to small cities in Japan.

By airport, some 36 million people traveled via Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to Seoul, while 9.91 million people used six other international airports across the country.

"The demand for international flights reached a record high in the first half due to the normalization of overseas travel centered on China and Japan, as well as supply expansions," an industry official said. "The growth in demand will continue in the second half of the year due to the stabilizing exchange rates and global oil prices."

As reported previously, South Korea will begin distributing cash handouts to all citizens July 21 as part of a government initiative aimed at stimulating domestic consumption.