SEOUL, KOREA - Due to the proliferation of low-cost airlines as well as people's propensity to travel more, last year's air traffic hit a record-high level.

 

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation said on January 17 that the number of flights coming in and out of Korea last year was 585,017, up 6.0 percent from the previous year's 551,744. The daily average flight number was 1,603, up 6.4 percent from last year's 1,507.

 

Of these, international flights accounted for 65.1 percent, or 380,744 while domestic flights 34.9 percent (204,273). For the past ten years, the air traffic has increased 5 percent a year on average, with the past five years seeing the average annual growth rate rising to 6.4 percent, surpassing the global air traffic growth forecast rate of 4.7 percent.

 

By airport, Jeju International Airport was ranked No. 1 with the 2013 traffic growth rate of 8.4 percent, followed by Incheon International Airport at 6.6 percent. By month, August was ranked highest with the daily average flight number of 1,688, followed by October (1,640) and July (1,632). By time of the day, the time interval between 10 and 11 am accounted for 8.3 percent of all daily air traffic with an average of 131 flights arriving and departing the airport.