Seoul, Jan 25 (IANS) Passenger traffic at Incheon International Airport exceeded 74 million in 2025, driven by increased flights to and from Japan and China, the airport’s operator said on Sunday.

A total of 74.07 million passengers traveled through South Korea’s main gateway last year, marking the highest annual figure since the airport opened in 2001, according to Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC), reports Yonhap news agency.

The 2025 total was up 4.1 percent from 71.15 million passengers recorded a year earlier.

“In particular, travel demand to Northeast Asian countries surged on the back of unusually long Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays, China’s temporary visa waiver program, and the weakness of the won, which boosted demand for alternative destinations such as Japan and China,” the IIAC said.

On international routes, Southeast Asia accounted for 26.7 percent of passenger traffic last year, followed by Japan at 25.1 percent and China at 16.7 percent, with the remainder on other routes.

The share of Southeast Asian routes declined from 29.6 percent a year earlier, amid rising safety concerns following the death of a South Korean college student in Cambodia last August in a suspected employment scam.

Overall freight volumes rose 0.3 percent on-year to 2.95 million tons last year, supported by increased belly cargo, which uses excess space on passenger aircraft to transport freight.

The IIAC said it expects passenger traffic this year to grow 2 to 6 percent on-year to between 75.54 million and 78.55 million.

Meanwhile, the remains of a late South Korean university student allegedly tortured to death by a criminal organisation in Cambodia returned home Tuesday, 74 days after he was found dead in the Southeast Asian country.

A Korean Air flight carrying the cremated remains of the 20-something student, surnamed Park, arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, a day after South Korean and Cambodian authorities conducted a joint autopsy on his body in Phnom Penh.

—IANS

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