DataMajor Korean Airport Passenger & Transfer Traffic
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Major Korean Airport Passenger & Transfer Traffic
Annual passenger and transfer-passenger counts at Incheon, Gimpo, and Jeju airports (2018–2025) plus Incheon monthly passengers (2015 to August 2026), Gimpo/Gimhae/Jeju international passengers by month (January–August of each year), with Gimpo and Jeju's foreign-entry nationality breakdown — the indicator most directly tied to airport duty-free and retail revenue.
Source — Incheon Int'l Airport Corp. · Korea Airports Corp. · Ministry of Justice
Incheon International Airport
International-focused hub — a very high share of transfer passengers
Annual Passengers (Non-Transfer / Transfer)
Unit: passengers · 2018–2025
Non-transfer passengersTransfer passengers
2018
68,259,763
2019
71,169,722
2020
12,049,851
2021
3,198,909
2022
17,869,759
2023
56,131,064
2024
71,156,947
2025
74,071,475
Annual Detail
Unit: passengers · Incheon International Airport Corporation
Transfer ConfirmedTransfer Supplemented estimate
| Year | Passengers | Non-Transfer | Transfer | Transfer Share | YoY Passengers | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 74,071,475 | 66,024,903 | 8,046,572 | 10.9% | +4.1% | Confirmed |
| 2024 | 71,156,947 | 62,922,225 | 8,234,722 | 11.6% | +26.8% | Confirmed |
| 2023 | 56,131,064 | 49,035,064 | 7,096,000 | 12.6% | +214.1% | Supplemented estimate |
| 2022 | 17,869,759 | 14,947,759 | 2,922,000 | 16.4% | +458.6% | Supplemented estimate |
| 2021 | 3,198,909 | 1,997,909 | 1,201,000 | 37.5% | -73.5% | Supplemented estimate |
| 2020 | 12,049,851 | 9,455,851 | 2,594,000 | 21.5% | -83.1% | Supplemented estimate |
| 2019 | 71,169,722 | 62,780,586 | 8,389,136 | 11.8% | +4.3% | Confirmed |
| 2018 | 68,259,763 | 60,238,904 | 8,020,859 | 11.8% | — | Supplemented estimate |
Monthly Passengers, 2015–2026
Unit: persons · arrivals + departures · Incheon Airport Corporation statistics, through Aug 2026
Jan–Aug 2026 cumulative
51,926,012
+6.3% YoY · +5.1% in 2025
Aug 2026
7,023,457
+7.2% YoY
H1 2026 (Jan–Jun)
38,386,794
+6.3% YoY
| Month | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | YoY | 2026 Arrivals | 2026 Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 4,292,111 | 4,886,777 | 5,491,862 | 5,941,601 | 6,206,479 | 6,261,721 | 210,862 | 356,864 | 3,826,112 | 5,790,322 | 6,540,889 | 6,880,460 | +5.2% | 3,326,174 | 3,554,286 |
| Feb | 4,037,895 | 4,609,111 | 5,125,390 | 5,445,686 | 5,735,160 | 3,348,194 | 165,342 | 318,588 | 3,715,334 | 5,700,756 | 5,970,166 | 6,366,444 | +6.6% | 3,242,947 | 3,123,497 |
| Mar | 4,051,493 | 4,330,370 | 4,836,847 | 5,619,316 | 5,835,616 | 602,967 | 183,515 | 410,706 | 3,890,985 | 5,655,938 | 5,980,750 | 6,537,498 | +9.3% | 3,426,558 | 3,110,940 |
| Apr | 4,126,553 | 4,439,967 | 4,715,390 | 5,432,112 | 5,739,936 | 153,514 | 177,906 | 649,562 | 4,020,931 | 5,526,565 | 5,778,371 | 6,340,947 | +9.7% | 3,145,535 | 3,195,412 |
| May | 4,207,293 | 4,410,635 | 4,712,450 | 5,392,329 | 5,766,768 | 137,924 | 199,581 | 939,463 | 4,363,453 | 5,642,979 | 5,942,878 | 6,270,823 | +5.5% | 3,146,100 | 3,124,723 |
| Jun | 3,273,142 | 4,643,686 | 4,841,913 | 5,526,970 | 5,974,806 | 182,523 | 244,435 | 1,262,221 | 4,584,375 | 5,731,957 | 5,905,103 | 5,990,622 | +1.4% | 3,002,160 | 2,988,462 |
| Jul | 3,603,962 | 5,222,967 | 5,290,918 | 5,750,886 | 6,179,014 | 218,913 | 288,664 | 1,738,421 | 5,202,624 | 6,093,855 | 6,188,541 | 6,515,761 | +5.3% | 3,173,027 | 3,342,734 |
| Aug | 4,430,040 | 5,430,852 | 5,665,128 | 6,112,995 | 6,349,041 | 234,459 | 338,463 | 1,950,487 | 5,405,083 | 6,326,101 | 6,548,841 | 7,023,457 | +7.2% | 3,576,233 | 3,447,224 |
| Sep | 3,890,232 | 4,680,160 | 4,998,423 | 5,345,986 | 5,396,416 | 196,864 | 287,435 | 1,802,378 | 4,811,303 | 5,736,886 | 5,792,436 | — | — | — | — |
| Oct | 4,358,703 | 4,919,565 | 5,219,261 | 5,755,421 | 5,829,420 | 195,288 | 309,062 | 2,290,327 | 5,331,724 | 6,158,622 | 6,343,020 | — | — | — | — |
| Nov | 4,073,396 | 4,592,839 | 5,112,944 | 5,486,813 | 5,521,018 | 195,367 | 369,752 | 2,666,928 | 5,043,716 | 5,893,130 | 6,037,528 | — | — | — | — |
| Dec | 4,375,499 | 4,985,277 | 5,510,046 | 5,866,032 | 6,044,376 | 228,022 | 414,572 | 3,437,838 | 5,568,128 | 6,412,135 | 6,526,249 | — | — | — | — |
Data Notes
- Monthly figures are the passenger totals in the Incheon Airport Corporation's monthly statistics table. Each year's monthly sum is lower than the annual total in the yearly table above (2018: 67,676,147 vs 68,259,763, 0.9% lower; 2019: 70,578,050 vs 71,169,722, 0.8% lower; 2020: 11,955,756 vs 12,049,851, 0.8% lower; 2021: 3,189,589 vs 3,198,909, 0.3% lower; 2022: 17,823,783 vs 17,869,759, 0.3% lower; 2023: 55,763,768 vs 56,131,064, 0.7% lower; 2024: 70,669,246 vs 71,156,947, 0.7% lower; 2025: 73,554,772 vs 74,071,475, 0.7% lower). The reason for the gap was not confirmed, so do not mix the two tables in calculations.
- Passengers include both Korean citizens and foreigners, and international and transfer passengers are not separated in this table.
Data notes — Incheon
- Passenger totals for all 8 years are based on Incheon International Airport Corporation's official statistics. Passengers = non-transfer passengers + transfer passengers.
- Transfer passenger counts are directly confirmed by an Incheon International Airport Corporation press release (2026-01-26) only for 2019, 2024, and 2025. The other years (2018, 2020–2023) are estimates supplementing public summary figures, and may be replaced with confirmed values once the original semiannual final-tally CSV is obtained.
- The sharp drop in 2020–2021 reflects the period of restricted international flight operations due to COVID-19.
Incheon International Airport Corporation — Statistics (time series)Public Data Portal — Incheon International Airport Corporation traffic by airline/routePublic Data Portal — Incheon International Airport Corporation transfer passenger statusIncheon International Airport Corporation — Press releases
Gimpo International Airport
Domestic-focused — international routes concentrated in Japan, China, and Taiwan
Annual Total Passengers
Unit: passengers · domestic + international · 2018–2025
2018
24,602,588
2019
25,448,416
2020
17,446,239
2021
22,525,417
2022
24,524,065
2023
23,424,158
2024
22,990,599
2025
22,962,089
Annual Detail
Unit: passengers · Korea Airports Corporation
| Year | Total | Domestic | Int'l Total | Int'l Inbound | Int'l Outbound | Int'l Transfer | YoY Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 22,962,089 | 18,524,429 | 4,437,660 | 2,217,799 | 2,213,783 | 6,078 | -0.1% |
| 2024 | 22,990,599 | 19,053,510 | 3,937,089 | 1,964,864 | 1,966,198 | 6,027 | -1.9% |
| 2023 | 23,424,158 | 20,208,251 | 3,215,907 | 1,598,486 | 1,599,074 | 18,347 | -4.5% |
| 2022 | 24,524,065 | 24,148,389 | 375,676 | 184,611 | 190,906 | 159 | +8.9% |
| 2021 | 22,525,417 | 22,510,527 | 14,890 | 7,190 | 7,700 | 0 | +29.1% |
| 2020 | 17,446,239 | 16,902,376 | 543,863 | 263,246 | 277,186 | 3,431 | -31.4% |
| 2019 | 25,448,416 | 21,176,127 | 4,272,289 | 2,114,936 | 2,119,274 | 38,079 | +3.4% |
| 2018 | 24,602,588 | 20,312,292 | 4,290,296 | 2,127,972 | 2,124,285 | 38,039 | — |
Gimpo International Passengers, January–August by Year
Unit: persons · arrivals + departures · scheduled passenger aircraft · Korea Airports Corporation
Jan–Aug 2026 cumulative
3,423,460
+19.5% YoY
August 2026
446,832
+18.2% YoY
vs. Jan–Aug 2019
117%
2019: 2,916,005
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Jan–Aug | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 414,558 | 377,879 | 436,468 | 435,409 | 438,703 | 429,528 | 444,083 | 446,832 | 3,423,460 | +19.5% |
| 2025 | 341,314 | 327,809 | 356,707 | 358,951 | 376,309 | 369,863 | 356,418 | 377,978 | 2,865,349 | +12.2% |
| 2024 | 302,527 | 305,288 | 325,522 | 321,655 | 326,784 | 323,078 | 322,854 | 326,193 | 2,553,901 | +31.7% |
| 2023 | 151,694 | 174,039 | 210,168 | 234,697 | 256,324 | 279,441 | 313,130 | 320,393 | 1,939,886 | +3640.5% |
| 2022 | 1,998 | 2,464 | 1,586 | 1,684 | 1,476 | 1,872 | 11,975 | 28,807 | 51,862 | +501.0% |
| 2021 | — | — | — | — | 4,140 | 1,292 | 1,630 | 1,568 | 8,630 | −98.4% |
| 2020 | 331,962 | 194,192 | 17,709 | — | — | — | — | — | 543,863 | −81.3% |
| 2019 | 359,730 | 339,939 | 384,229 | 366,901 | 369,072 | 367,709 | 368,742 | 359,683 | 2,916,005 | +1.0% |
| 2018 | 361,190 | 335,723 | 371,775 | 370,636 | 363,187 | 352,754 | 357,930 | 373,276 | 2,886,471 | +9.0% |
| 2017 | 353,642 | 345,611 | 345,076 | 308,555 | 306,387 | 306,023 | 329,132 | 353,099 | 2,647,525 | −6.7% |
| 2016 | 363,414 | 342,153 | 357,569 | 349,703 | 335,379 | 346,822 | 367,757 | 375,882 | 2,838,679 | +7.3% |
| 2015 | 357,712 | 345,410 | 376,837 | 342,208 | 351,997 | 243,067 | 277,154 | 351,419 | 2,645,804 | — |
Data Notes
- Only January–August of each year was retrieved (the query range 2015.01–2026.08 returns those months), so September–December are not shown and the Jan–Aug column is not an annual total.
- "—" marks months with no row in the source, which appears to mean no international flights (e.g., 2020–2022) but was not confirmed as a zero in the original data; they are counted as 0 in the Jan–Aug column.
- Arrivals + departures on scheduled passenger aircraft; transfer passengers are not shown separately, so totals can differ slightly from the annual international totals above (arrivals + departures + transfers).
Korean vs. Foreign Entries
Unit: persons · MOJ immigration entries
| Year | Korean | Foreign | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 945,884 | 1,093,441 | 2,039,325 |
| 2023 | 834,826 | 821,364 | 1,656,190 |
| 2022* | — | 74,448 | — |
Top Nationalities (2024)
Foreign entries only
| Nationality | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 574,200 | 52.5% |
| China | 249,300 | 22.8% |
| Taiwan | 127,770 | 11.7% |
| USA | 53,313 | 4.9% |
| Russia | 9,042 | 0.8% |
| Australia | 7,854 | 0.7% |
| Canada | 7,672 | 0.7% |
| France | 6,428 | 0.6% |
Jeju International Airport
Domestic-focused — international traffic heavily dependent on Chinese tourists
Annual Total Passengers
Unit: passengers · domestic + international · 2018–2025
2018
29,455,305
2019
31,316,394
2020
21,054,696
2021
25,802,550
2022
29,703,662
2023
29,096,271
2024
29,619,606
2025
29,806,982
Annual Detail
Unit: passengers · Korea Airports Corporation
| Year | Total | Domestic | Int'l Total | Int'l Inbound | Int'l Outbound | Int'l Transfer | YoY Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 29,806,982 | 26,777,702 | 3,029,280 | 1,528,232 | 1,501,022 | 26 | +0.6% |
| 2024 | 29,619,606 | 27,171,996 | 2,447,610 | 1,227,097 | 1,220,477 | 36 | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 29,096,271 | 27,901,266 | 1,195,005 | 604,938 | 589,898 | 169 | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 29,703,662 | 29,609,750 | 93,912 | 47,419 | 46,482 | 11 | +15.1% |
| 2021 | 25,802,550 | 25,797,769 | 4,781 | 370 | 4,411 | 0 | +22.6% |
| 2020 | 21,054,696 | 20,771,898 | 282,798 | 131,371 | 151,368 | 59 | -32.8% |
| 2019 | 31,316,394 | 28,648,341 | 2,668,053 | 1,344,110 | 1,317,254 | 6,689 | +6.3% |
| 2018 | 29,455,305 | 27,555,827 | 1,899,478 | 959,232 | 930,755 | 9,491 | — |
Jeju International Passengers, January–August by Year
Unit: persons · arrivals + departures · scheduled passenger aircraft · Korea Airports Corporation
Jan–Aug 2026 cumulative
2,576,632
+28.3% YoY
August 2026
383,676
+13.8% YoY
vs. Jan–Aug 2019
150%
2019: 1,721,402
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Jan–Aug | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 272,013 | 261,550 | 281,371 | 319,947 | 340,464 | 348,758 | 368,853 | 383,676 | 2,576,632 | +28.3% |
| 2025 | 194,062 | 169,899 | 187,538 | 240,987 | 271,753 | 281,112 | 326,463 | 337,081 | 2,008,895 | +20.9% |
| 2024 | 156,355 | 173,804 | 186,473 | 184,604 | 208,155 | 215,572 | 256,002 | 280,571 | 1,661,536 | +148.0% |
| 2023 | 35,278 | 36,526 | 44,166 | 75,755 | 82,895 | 104,064 | 137,187 | 154,090 | 669,961 | +3881.9% |
| 2022 | 140 | — | — | — | — | 2,835 | 4,844 | 9,006 | 16,825 | +464.2% |
| 2021 | 564 | 239 | 278 | 293 | 344 | 418 | 446 | 400 | 2,982 | −98.9% |
| 2020 | 231,563 | 39,050 | 3,626 | 536 | 523 | 826 | 990 | 1,274 | 278,388 | −83.8% |
| 2019 | 169,838 | 186,182 | 192,672 | 213,017 | 223,316 | 229,889 | 239,954 | 266,534 | 1,721,402 | +44.3% |
| 2018 | 110,047 | 114,046 | 128,917 | 147,818 | 153,824 | 165,644 | 176,093 | 196,672 | 1,193,061 | +37.2% |
| 2017 | 187,584 | 187,033 | 91,485 | 60,948 | 68,646 | 71,182 | 98,909 | 103,869 | 869,656 | −55.7% |
| 2016 | 186,471 | 206,651 | 221,351 | 240,092 | 251,684 | 262,186 | 294,730 | 297,836 | 1,961,001 | +58.4% |
| 2015 | 159,837 | 176,407 | 181,406 | 200,715 | 244,654 | 106,291 | 43,146 | 125,246 | 1,237,702 | — |
Data Notes
- Only January–August of each year was retrieved (the query range 2015.01–2026.08 returns those months), so September–December are not shown and the Jan–Aug column is not an annual total.
- "—" marks months with no row in the source, which appears to mean no international flights (e.g., 2020–2022) but was not confirmed as a zero in the original data; they are counted as 0 in the Jan–Aug column.
- Arrivals + departures on scheduled passenger aircraft; transfer passengers are not shown separately, so totals can differ slightly from the annual international totals above (arrivals + departures + transfers).
Korean vs. Foreign Entries
Unit: persons · MOJ immigration entries
| Year | Korean | Foreign | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 125,050 | 1,121,915 | 1,246,965 |
| 2023 | 89,505 | 507,991 | 597,496 |
| 2022* | — | 33,614 | — |
Top Nationalities (2024)
Foreign entries only
| Nationality | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| China | 854,809 | 76.2% |
| Taiwan | 129,660 | 11.6% |
| Hong Kong | 30,342 | 2.7% |
| Singapore | 27,649 | 2.5% |
| Japan | 21,142 | 1.9% |
| Malaysia | 10,936 | 1.0% |
| USA | 7,404 | 0.7% |
| Philippines | 5,955 | 0.5% |
Gimhae International Airport
International passengers only · January–August monthly figures from the Korea Airports Corporation
Gimhae International Passengers, January–August by Year
Unit: persons · arrivals + departures · scheduled passenger aircraft · Korea Airports Corporation
Jan–Aug 2026 cumulative
8,239,474
+22.6% YoY
August 2026
1,127,708
+21.5% YoY
vs. Jan–Aug 2019
122%
2019: 6,758,928
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Jan–Aug | YoY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 1,109,364 | 1,036,049 | 1,067,149 | 971,389 | 970,650 | 916,421 | 1,040,744 | 1,127,708 | 8,239,474 | +22.6% |
| 2025 | 890,161 | 815,491 | 821,261 | 768,408 | 822,857 | 809,767 | 862,487 | 928,484 | 6,718,916 | +15.4% |
| 2024 | 748,084 | 711,439 | 730,940 | 669,396 | 713,836 | 716,863 | 759,097 | 770,730 | 5,820,385 | +43.8% |
| 2023 | 508,849 | 514,855 | 475,280 | 436,226 | 459,095 | 486,537 | 573,479 | 593,161 | 4,047,482 | +1626.4% |
| 2022 | 1,951 | 2,163 | 2,392 | 3,738 | 6,896 | 16,820 | 84,431 | 116,054 | 234,445 | +1785.1% |
| 2021 | 868 | 884 | 1,246 | 864 | 3,265 | 1,683 | 2,087 | 1,540 | 12,437 | −98.9% |
| 2020 | 802,322 | 325,487 | 23,152 | 249 | — | — | — | — | 1,151,210 | −83.0% |
| 2019 | 923,630 | 851,045 | 861,315 | 806,035 | 797,278 | 841,567 | 834,001 | 844,057 | 6,758,928 | +1.8% |
| 2018 | 910,834 | 801,563 | 841,649 | 800,666 | 782,215 | 793,512 | 813,623 | 894,656 | 6,638,718 | +14.8% |
| 2017 | 791,377 | 754,675 | 729,328 | 664,918 | 654,349 | 667,721 | 732,279 | 788,490 | 5,783,137 | +12.4% |
| 2016 | 703,975 | 647,389 | 592,283 | 594,910 | 581,236 | 616,500 | 695,565 | 714,216 | 5,146,074 | +36.6% |
| 2015 | 508,064 | 449,326 | 457,207 | 506,554 | 508,841 | 379,166 | 414,586 | 542,240 | 3,765,984 | — |
Data Notes
- Only January–August of each year was retrieved (the query range 2015.01–2026.08 returns those months), so September–December are not shown and the Jan–Aug column is not an annual total.
- "—" marks months with no row in the source, which appears to mean no international flights (e.g., 2020–2022) but was not confirmed as a zero in the original data; they are counted as 0 in the Jan–Aug column.
- Arrivals + departures on scheduled passenger aircraft; transfer passengers are not shown separately, so totals can differ slightly from the annual international totals above (arrivals + departures + transfers).
Data notes — Gimpo & Jeju
- Gimpo and Jeju passenger figures are from the Korea Airports Corporation (KAC) "by-airport statistics" query system — a different source from Incheon, which is operated separately by Incheon International Airport Corporation. International = inbound + outbound + transfer passengers.
- Gimpo and Jeju's international transfer passengers run in the tens to low thousands per year — an entirely different order of magnitude from Incheon (millions per year). Whether domestic-to-international connections (e.g. via Gimpo–Haneda) are counted in this transfer figure is not documented in the KAC source.
- The nationality (Korean vs. foreign) figures come from a separate source — Ministry of Justice port-level immigration statistics (based on entry inspection), which use a different counting method from KAC's ticket-based international-inbound figure above and do not exactly reconcile with it. Do not sum or substitute one for the other. 2022 has no Korean-citizen row in the source data, so only the foreign-national figure is available that year.
- The top-nationality breakdown is based on 2024 (the latest published year) foreign entries, limited to the top 8 countries.