The duty-free area of the departure section of Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport on July 2 is packed with passengers. (Yonhap News)  

By Hong Angie

The number of passengers on domestic carriers recovered in the first half of the year to 84% of the level before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on June 2 said the number on both domestic and international routes in the first six months of the year reached 53.39 million.

The figure equaled 83.9% of the 63.62 million registered in the same period of 2019.

The number of passengers flying domestic carriers exceeded 60 million both in 2018 and 2019, but the outbreak of COVID-19 slashed the figure to 30.17 million in 2020. The level reached 31.92 million in 2021, 39.45 million last year and over 50 million in this year's first half.

The number of passengers using domestic routes was 32.79 million in the first half, or 61.4% of the total and up 1.2% from 32.38 million over the same period in 2019.

That of travelers flying abroad reached 20.61 million, comprising 38.6% of the total and 66% of 2019's first-half figure of 31.24 million.

Passenger traffic for each month displayed consistent growth, with January at 8.6 million, February 8.45 million, March 8.61 million, April 8.95 million, May 9.44 million, and June 9.35 million. All six months each saw an increase of over 80% from the same months in 2019.

Low-cost carriers experienced faster recovery thanks to exploding demand for short-distance flights to Japan and Southeast Asia, while larger ones focused on mid- to long-haul routes saw slower recovery.

Air cargo reached 1.4 million tons, equal to 91.2% of 1.54 million in the first half of 2019. Korean Air, which accounted for 54% of transported freight, had 760,000 tons, or 92.6% of that from the same period four years ago, and Asiana Airlines (27%) 385,000, or 80.7%.

shong9412@korea.kr