Travelers crowd the departure hall at Incheon International Airport’s Terminal 1 on Aug. 2.YONHAP
Incheon International Airport ranked first in the world for international passenger traffic in the first half of this year, the first time it has taken the top spot since opening in 2001.
The airport handled an estimated 38.39 million international passengers from January through June, up 6.3 percent from the same period last year, the Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC) said Thursday.
It handled the largest number of international passengers among 1,234 airports worldwide, based on preliminary statistics from the Airports Council International.
London Heathrow Airport ranked second with 37.79 million passengers, followed by Singapore's Changi Airport with 34.53 million.
Incheon International Airport has steadily climbed the global rankings for international passenger traffic since it opened. It ranked 10th in the world with 20.55 million passengers in 2002, rose to fifth with 67.68 million in 2018 and reached third with 70.67 million in 2024. It took the top spot for the first time in the first half of this year.
The airport corporation attributed the increase in passengers partly to weakened transfer functions at major Middle Eastern airports amid the fallout from the Iran war. Some air travel demand that had previously passed through Dubai on the way to Europe shifted to Incheon International Airport, the corporation said.
In fact, the number of transfer passengers at Incheon International Airport reached 4.24 million in the first half of this year, up 18.1 percent from the same period last year. The number of transfer passengers on European routes surged 63.2 percent to 210,000.
The share of foreign passengers also rose sharply. Foreign nationals accounted for 44.4 percent of all passengers in the second quarter, the highest proportion since the airport opened.
The airport corporation said timely expansion of airport infrastructure with government support and an extensive aviation network laid the foundation for the airport to become the world's busiest airport for international passenger traffic.
Travelers queue in the departure hall of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport on Aug. 2.YONHAP
Through four phases of construction since opening, Incheon International Airport has developed facilities capable of handling 106 million passengers annually. The figure gives it the world's third largest passenger capacity.
A total of 101 airlines currently operate passenger and cargo flights at Incheon International Airport, connecting it with 183 cities in 53 countries.
The airport serves 158 international destinations, more than Hong Kong International Airport's 139, Shanghai Pudong International Airport's 92 and Japan's Narita International Airport's 86.
The airport corporation plans to further strengthen its competitiveness by revamping airport services with a focus on passenger convenience and developing infrastructure for AI transformation and urban air mobility.
"We are grateful for the government, the public and the hard work of employees stationed at the airport, all of which have helped make Incheon International Airport the world's No. 1 airport," said Kim Bum-ho, acting president of the IIAC. "We will transform Incheon International Airport into an airport for the people that improves public convenience and contributes to the development of the country's aviation industry."
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
