International flight passengers in South Korea rise 9.8% to 68.44 million in Jan-Aug

International flight passenger traffic at South Korean airports increased 9.8 per cent year-on-year to 68.44 million during January-August, with Japan and China routes recording strong growth. Despite higher oil prices and fuel surcharges, shorter flight times and travel demand helped boost passenger numbers, while traffic on Southeast Asian routes declined.

IANS 26 September 2026 06:30

The number of international flight passengers using South Korean airports rose around 10 per cent in the January-August period from a year earlier despite a sharp rise in oil prices, data showed on Saturday. A total of 68.44 million people used international flights in the first eight months of the year, up 9.8 percent from the previous year, according to the data from the airport portal information system of the transportation ministry. Experts said the yen's weakness and China's visa-free program for Korean nationals helped boost demand for flights to and from Japan and China.

The number of travellers using Incheon International Airport, South Korea's main gateway, for transit also increased amid the Middle East war, reports Yonhap news agency. By destination, the number of travellers using flights linking South Korea and Japan rose 20.3 percent on-year to 21.3 million in the cited period, and the number using China flight routes increased 23 percent to 13.6 million.

Meanwhile, the number of passengers using flights to and from Southeast Asian nations markedly declined, the data showed. The number of travellers using flights linking South Korea and Vietnam fell 5.1 percent on-year to 6.63 million and the number of passengers for Philippine routes declined 13.7 percent to 2.5 million. "As fuel surcharges rose in line with a spike in oil prices, more travellers chose Japan and China as flight times to those countries are one to three hours, shorter than those to Southeast Asian nations at four to six hours," an industry watcher said. Meanwhile, Asiana Airlines, the country's second-largest carrier, said last month its shareholders have approved its merger with larger rival Korean Air Co., wrapping up nearly six years of the latter's acquisition process. Asiana held an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to vote on the merger, with an overwhelming majority of shareholders voting in favour of the deal with the national flag carrier, a company spokesperson said.

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