Incheon airport ranks third in international passenger traffic last year

Seoul, April 20 (IANS) South Korea's Incheon International Airport ranked third in international passenger traffic last year, its highest ranking since opening in 2001, the airport's operator said on Sunday.

The country's main airport, located about 45 kilometers west of Seoul in Incheon, previously ranked seventh in 2023 and fifth in both 2018 and 2019, the Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) said in a press release.

In 2024, a total of 70.67 million passengers used international routes via Incheon Airport, up 26.7 percent from the previous year, the release said, citing data from Airports Council International (ACI), reports Yonhap news agency.

"Outbound travellers sharply increased during the summer peak season, Thanksgiving, and year-end holidays. Passenger traffic also surged on short-haul routes to Japan and other Asian destinations due to the yen's weakness and the dollar's strength," the IIAC said.

Dubai International Airport and London Heathrow Airport ranked first and second, respectively, with 92.33 million and 79.19 million international passengers, according to ACI data.

The IIAC expects international passenger traffic at Incheon airport to reach between 73 million and 77 million this year, boosted by a record 98 air carriers now offering flights to the hub.

Incheon airport also maintained its third-place ranking in terms of international cargo volume last year.

Its international air cargo traffic rose 7.4 percent on-year to 2.9 million tons, following that of Hong Kong's international airport at 4.9 million tons and Shanghai at 3 million tons, the release added.

Meanwhile, the number of unsold new homes in South Korea has reached the highest level in 11 years and five months, data showed on Sunday, due mainly to weak demand for new homes in provincial regions.

There were 23,722 unsold new apartments nationwide as of the end of February, doubling from 11,855 tallied a year earlier, according to the data by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

It marked the highest level since South Korea saw 24,667 unsold new homes in September 2013.

—IANS

na/