A total of 217,000 flights used South Korea's airspace in the first half of this year. Air traffic, which had slowed down in the first half of last year due to the impact of COVID-19, is showing signs of recovery mainly in domestic flights.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that the air traffic volume in South Korea for the first half of this year decreased by 5% compared to the same period last year but increased by 12% compared to the second half of last year. The average daily traffic volume was 1,197 flights. Among the months in the first half, April recorded the highest traffic volume with 42,000 flights.
Looking at international and domestic flight volumes, international flights operated 93,000 flights (an average of 511 flights per day), down 28.5% from the same period last year. On the other hand, domestic flights totaled 124,000 flights (an average of 685 flights per day), up 25.8% compared to the same period last year.
Among international flights, the airspace transit traffic passing through South Korea's airspace en route to other countries increased by 76.3% from the same period last year to 20,000 flights (an average of 111 flights per day).
Monthly international flight volumes have been slightly increasing since March, while monthly domestic flight volumes have surged since February, recovering to pre-COVID-19 levels.
Among the eight airport control towers under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in the first half of the year, Jeju handled the most traffic with 78,000 flights, followed by Incheon with 73,000 flights and Gimpo with 72,000 flights.
The average daily traffic volume at Jeju Airport and Gimpo Airport control towers was 429 and 398 flights respectively, marking increases of 18.6% and 24% compared to the same period last year.
Lee Rang, Director of the Aviation Traffic Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, explained, "Although the air traffic volume in the first half of the year remains significantly lower than before COVID-19, it is showing signs of recovery mainly in domestic flights," adding, "In particular, domestic flight volumes have surged, exceeding pre-COVID-19 levels."
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