KOREAN NET

Incheon International Airport in the third quarter saw its highest number of passengers since its opening in 2001. Shown is the departure hall at the airport's Terminal 1 on Sept. 13. (Incheon International Airport Corp.)

By Gil Kyuyoung

Incheon International Airport in the third quarter saw its highest number of passengers since its opening in 2001.

The number of international passengers reached 18,156,842 in the quarter, Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) said on Oct. 21, up 1.3% from 17,924,471 in the third quarter of 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic and 17.8% higher from 15,419,010 in the same quarter last year.

IIAC attributed the record-breaking result to more passengers in the summer peak season and Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holidays, stimulation of flights to and from Japan and the Americas, and recovery in China routes.

By region, Southeast Asia had the highest number of passengers on its routes with 5,023,073, followed by Japan with 4,391,793, China 2,900,360, the Americas 1,791,340 and Northeast Asia 1,720,141. Passenger volume on China routes recovered to 79.8% of that in the third quarter of 2019.

IIAC President Lee Hag Jae said, "Given rising flight demand, we will complete the fourth phase of the airport expansion project set for the end of the year in a timely fashion to provide safer and more convenient airport services."

gilkyuyoung@korea.kr