Incheon International Airport – the main international gateway to Seoul and South Korea – served a record of over 74 million passengers last year (2025).
Incheon International Airport – the main international gateway to Seoul and South Korea – served a record of over 74 million passengers last year (2025).
The new annual passenger traffic record surpasses Incheon Airport's previous record set in 2019 of around 71.17 million. It is a 4.1% increase compared to the nearly 71.16 million served in 2024.
Of the 74 million passengers served at Incheon, the majority of over 73.55 million flew on international flights while 516,703 flew on domestic flights. Flights operated to/from Incheon Airport also increased to 425,760 in 2025 compared to 413,200 in 2024.
In a release published by the Incheon International Airport Corporation (IIAC), the record high passenger traffic achieved in 2025 was driven by growing demand for flights to nearby China and Japan. Key drivers cited include extended holiday periods covering both the Chinese Lunar New Year and Chuseok (Korean Mid-Autumn Harvest), the introduction of China's temporary visa exemption policy, and increased demand on routes to the two markets amid high exchange rates.
IIAC also reported rising growth in passenger numbers on North Asia routes – including to Taiwan and Hong Kong.
While making up the 26.7% majority of the international passenger traffic to/from Incheon, the Southeast Asia market saw a 5.9% decline from 21.036 million in 2024 to 19.78 million in 2025. Japan is the second biggest market (18.578 million, 25.1%), followed by Mainland China (12.356 million, 16.7%), Northeast Asia (7.026 million, 9.5%), and the Americas (6.851 million, 9.3%).
IIAC attributed the decrease in passenger traffic to/from Southeast Asia to concerns about local security.
Despite recovering to around 95.9% compared to before the pandemic, transfer passenger traffic at Incheon Airport decreased from 8.234 million in 2024 to 8.046 million in 2025. The airports served 8.389 million transfer passengers in 2019.
The IIAC attributed the decrease in transfer passenger traffic to the expansion of direct routes between China and Southeast Asia to the Americas and Europe, and Chinese airlines taking advantage of using Russian airspace amid US-China tensions.
Incheon Airport handled 2.954 million tonnes of cargo in 2025, representing an increase compared to the previous year (2024, 2.946 million) but below the record 3.329 million tonnes set amid the pandemic in 2021.
In a statement (originally written in Korean but translated to English), IIAC CEO Lee Hak-jae said: “Despite last year’s record air transportation performance, we were able to maintain safe and convenient airport operations thanks to the hard work of approximately 94,000 airport employees. As many citizens are expected to use Incheon Airport this year as well, we will prioritize safety and accelerate operational innovations such as AI transformation to provide even safer and more convenient airport services to the public.”
Based on the continued momentum of passenger demand, the IIAC expects passenger traffic at Incheon Airport to reach between 75.54-78.55 million in 2026.
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