International air passenger traffic in South Korea rises 9.8% — Korea Herald

In South Korea, the number of international flight passengers increased by 9.8% year-on-year in January–August, reaching 68.44 million people. This was reported by the Korea Herald, citing data from the country's Transport Ministry airport information portal.

Growth on routes to Japan and China

Passenger traffic on routes between South Korea and Japan rose by 20.3%, reaching 21.3 million people. The number of travelers on routes to and from China increased by 23%, to 13.6 million.

Experts attribute the growing demand for flights to the weak yen exchange rate and China's visa-free program for South Korean citizens. The publication also reported that, amid the war in the Middle East, the number of transit passengers through Incheon International Airport increased.

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Decline on routes to Southeast Asia

At the same time, the number of passengers on several routes to Southeast Asian countries declined. On flights between South Korea and Vietnam, it fell by 5.1%, to 6.63 million people, while on Philippine routes it decreased by 13.7%, to 2.5 million.

An industry representative linked this trend to higher fuel surcharges caused by rising oil prices. In his assessment, travelers more often chose Japan and China, where flights take from one to three hours, instead of Southeast Asian destinations with flight times of four to six hours.