S.Korea’s air passenger traffic hits record high

Seoul, Jan 30 (IANS) South Korea's air passenger traffic reached a record high in 2016 on a sharp increase in international passengers to and from the country amid expanded services of low-cost carriers (LCCs), the Transport Ministry said on Monday.

Air passenger traffic came in at 103.9 million last year, breaching the 100 million mark for the first time in the country's history, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The 2016 tally breaks down to 73 million international air passengers and 30.9 million domestic air passengers, which represents an 18.1 per cent rise from a year earlier and a 10.5 per cent hike, respectively, the ministry said.

The country's air passengers have been on a sharp rise, reaching 73.3 million in 2013, 81.4 million in 2014 and 89.4 million in 2015.

The increase in air passenger traffic was attributed to a rise in both international and domestic passengers.

By airline, 45.1 per cent of international air passengers used Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Co. -- the country's two flag carriers -- with the remainder using the flight services by budget carriers and foreign airlines.

The country's LCCs accounted for 19.6 per cent of international air passenger services last year, up from 9.6 per cent in 2013, 11.5 per cent in 2014 and 14.6 per cent in 2015, according to the ministry.

Meanwhile, the country's international air cargo traffic also reached a record high last year with 3.78 million tons, up 7.5 per cent from a year earlier, the ministry added.