1.34 Million People Travel Abroad During Golden Lunar New Year Holiday... "Highest Number of Departures on the 25th"

It is expected that more than 1.34 million people will travel abroad through domestic airports during this year's Lunar New Year holiday period.

The departure hall of Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 was bustling with crowds heading overseas a day before the Chuseok holiday last September. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

According to data submitted by Incheon International Airport Corporation and Korea Airports Corporation to Yeom Tae-young, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, a total of 1,340,295 people (based on departures) are expected to depart from six international airports operating in Korea over the ten days from the 24th of this month to the 2nd of next month.

At Incheon Airport, 1,046,647 people are expected to depart, while 293,648 people are projected to use international flights at Gimpo, Gimhae, Jeju, Cheongju, and Daegu airports, where Korea Airports Corporation operates international routes. At Gimhae Airport, 158,000 people are expected to travel abroad, and 53,000 people at Gimpo Airport.

By date, the second day of the holiday, the 25th, is expected to see the highest number of departing passengers. A total of 153,000 people, including 123,000 at Incheon Airport, are expected to head overseas. On the day of Lunar New Year, the 29th, the number of departures is predicted to be the lowest at 115,000.

The average daily number of departing passengers is expected to be 134,000, a 13.8% increase compared to last year's Lunar New Year holiday (117,000). Among the ten holiday periods from 2020 to 2024, only last year's Chuseok holiday had a higher average daily passenger count (137,000) than this Lunar New Year holiday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has increased the total number of flights during the Lunar New Year holiday period by 7% compared to normal times, operating 19,351 flights, and expanded the supply seats by 5.8% to 4,217,000 seats. During this period, Asiana Airlines will operate nine charter flights each on the Incheon-Kota Kinabalu, Nha Trang, and Siem Reap routes. Eastar Jet will add flights from Incheon to Da Nang (16 flights) and Taipei (24 flights), from Jeju to Taipei (4 flights), and from Cheongju to Taipei (4 flights).

Assemblyman Yeom Tae-young said, "With the designation of temporary holidays, the Lunar New Year holiday period is longer than usual, and an increase in overseas travel demand is expected. The government and the aviation industry must make thorough preparations so that many passengers can travel safely and comfortably, especially as aviation safety is more important during this time."