Korea's int'l passenger traffic exceeds domestic for 1st time since pandemic

The volume of international passengers in South Korea has exceeded that of domestic flights for the first time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Sunday said its aviation statistics showed that the number of international passengers reached 3,081,000 last month, a whopping 734% leap from the same month last year and surpassing that of domestic passengers, which fell 12.9% to 2,853,000 over the same period.

After the pandemic broke out in March 2020, domestic airlines reduced their number of international routes and boosted that of domestic flights as many countries imposed strict entry restrictions. This is the first time in two years and seven months that the number of international passengers has exceeded the number on domestic flights.

Last month, the number of passengers on all Korea-Japan routes hit 820,000, nearly double October's 416,000, and leading overall growth in international passenger traffic. Total international passengers from Dec. 1 to 23 was 2,893,000 and could reach the four million monthly level for the first time since the pandemic's outbreak.

Write to Ik-Hwan Kim at lovepen@hankyung.com