According to Newsis,
[SEOUL = Newsis] Reporter Byun Hae-jung – Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) achieved record-high air transport performance last year, bolstered by increased demand for routes to China and Japan.
IIAC announced on the 25th that it recorded 74,071,475 passengers (International + Domestic) and 425,760 flight operations last year. This represents the highest figures since the airport's opening in 2001.
In the case of passengers, 73,554,772 used international lines, while 516,703 used domestic lines. This is a 4.1 percent (2,901,753 people) increase compared to 2019, when aviation demand was at its highest prior to COVID-19. It also reflects a 4.1 percent (2,914,528 people) growth compared to the previous year.
The Corporation attributes this growth to:
- Unusually long "Golden Holidays" during the Lunar New Year and Chuseok seasons.
- Implementation of China's temporary visa-waiver policy.
- Increase in passengers on China and Japan routes due to the "substitution effect" caused by high exchange rates.
- Increase in passengers on Northeast Asian routes, such as Taiwan and Hong Kong, due to the expanding preference for Korean cultural and tourism content.
Regarding international passenger performance by region, Southeast Asia accounted for the largest share at 26.7 percent (19,786,272 people). This was followed by Japan (18,578,176 people; 25.1 percent), China (12,356,734 people; 16.7 percent), Northeast Asia (7,026,111 people; 9.5 percent), and the Americas (6,851,615 people; 9.3 percent).
While most routes recorded growth compared to the previous year, the Southeast Asia route saw a 5.9 percent negative growth, indicating a contraction in travel demand as anxiety regarding local public safety spread. The share of passengers for Southeast Asian routes rose close to 2019 levels (29.9 percent) at 29.6 percent in 2024, but dropped by 2.9 percentage points (p) to 26.7 percent last year.
Flight operations last year increased by 3.0 percent compared to the previous record in 2024 (413,200 flights). Analysis suggests the primary factor was a 3.3 percent increase in passenger flight operations compared to 2024 (362,208 flights), as flights expanded to meet rising passenger demand.
The number of transfer passengers last year was 8,046,572, a 2.3 percent decrease from 8,234,722 in 2024. This represents a recovery rate of 95.9 percent compared to 2019 (8,389,136 people). The Corporation explained that this resulted from the expansion of direct flights from China and Southeast Asia to the Americas and Europe, as well as Chinese airlines—which are permitted to fly through Russian airspace amid U.S.-China tensions—absorbing transfer demand at Incheon Airport through "reflexive benefits" (windfall gains).
Air cargo performance last year reached 2,954,684 tons, a 0.3 percent increase compared to 2024 (2,946,902 tons).
While the volume of dedicated cargo flights decreased by 0.7 percent year-on-year, the overall performance was driven by a 2.0 percent increase in "Belly Cargo" (transporting cargo using the lower cargo hold of passenger aircraft) due to the expansion of passenger flight operations.
The Corporation expects passenger performance this year to reach between 75.54 million and 78.55 million, an increase of 2–6 percent compared to the previous year.
◎ NEWSIS, hjpyun@newsis.com
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Source Text
Source: Newsis (January 25, 2026)
** This article was translated from Korean.