The number of international passengers traveling via Incheon International Airport has leaped nearly 40 percent in the first half of 2024 from a year earlier, the airport's operator said Friday. A total of around 34 million passengers traveled on international flights at Incheon International Airport in the first half, up 39.5 percent from the same period last year, according to the Incheon International Airport Corp. It marks a rebound of 96.6 percent compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Over 21,000 people used the airport in a single day on Feb. 25, setting the highest daily record since the COVID-19 pandemic, airport officials said. The most popular travel destination was Southeast Asia, with 10.46 million passengers, or 30.7 percent of the total, followed by China with 13.6 percent and the Americas with 9.1 percent. The number of international flights during the first half of this year also increased 34 percent on-year, officials said. Cargo flights also jumped 10.5 percent compared with last year, transporting over 1.44 million tons of cargo. Source: Yonhap News Agency