The number of passengers who used Incheon International Airport in the first half of the year set a record high of 36.36 million. Shown are travelers on May 1 at the departure hall of the airport's Terminal 1 lining up to go through immigration. (Yonhap News)

By Margareth Theresia

The number of passengers who used Incheon International Airport in the first half of the year reached its highest level for the period since the airport opened in 2001.

Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) said passenger volume between January and June hit 36.36 million on 207,959 flights, up 2.3% from the pre-COVID-19 level in the first half of of 2019 and a 6.1% rise year on year.

A leading driver of the increase was recovery of demand for flights to Japan, as 9.43 million passengers in the first half flew to the neighboring country, up 9.3% year on year. Another major factor was China's temporary visa waiver, which fueled growth of 24.3% in the number of Korean visitors to 5.75 million.

But passenger volume on routes to Southeast Asia fell 3.8% and that to Oceania 11.9% due to lower supply from low-cost carriers. Yet long-distance routes to Northeast Asia (12.8%) the Americas (7.8%) and Europe (3%) all saw impressive growth, leading to the overall increase.

IIAC President Lee Hag-jae said, "Incheon International Airport will prepare for an era of 100 million passengers through digital transformation and global network expansion."

margareth@korea.kr