JEJU-DO < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

(SEJONG=Yonhap News) South Korea's air passenger traffic rose sharply from a year earlier in November, fueled by the increased number of people taking both domestic and international flights, the government said Wednesday.

In November, the country's overall air passenger traffic rose by 14.1 percent on-year to 7.66 million, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The number of international air passengers to and from South Korea moved up 13.7 percent on-year to 5.22 million last month, an increase from 4.59 million tallied for the previous year.

This marks the third straight month that numbers moved up following negative growth during the summer months caused by the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

Air traffic to Oceania, Japan and Southeast Asia rose by double digits, while traffic to and from Europe, China and the Americas advanced around 8 percent on-year in the one month period.

Domestic passenger traffic, which has recovered relatively quickly from the MERS fallout, continued to grow at a fast pace, rising 15 percent on-year to 2.44 million for November.

The ministry said the rise is mainly due to more people traveling to the resort island of Jeju off South Korea's southern coast.

Of all international passengers flying to and from South Korea, 64.8 percent, or 3.38 million, used flights operated by South Korean carriers.

Numbers for the country's two full-service airlines -- Korean Air and Asiana Airlines -- rose 10.3 percent compared with the year before to 2.53 million, while figures for the five budget carriers surged 54.6 percent to 847,458 in the one-month period.

The latest data, meanwhile, showed air cargo inching up 1 percent on-year to 329,972 tons, with international cargo propping up growth.

The ministry said international cargo reached 306,126 tons, up 1.1 percent on-year, with numbers rising for Oceania, China, Europe and Japan. Air cargo to the Americas contracted.

Domestic cargo stood pat at around 24,000 tons, the ministry said.

yonngong@yna.co.kr

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