The number of international air passengers to and from South Korea totaled 5.38 million in January, up 15.8 percent from the same month last year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said.
Passengers of South Korea-China routes totaled 1.26 million in number last month, up 25.3 percent from a year earlier, while passengers to and from Southeast Asian countries reached 2.12 million, up 16.8 percent.
Domestic air passenger traffic grew 15.3 percent to 2.04 million on-year in January on the back of increased traffic to and from the southern resort island of Jeju, the ministry said.
When combined, the number of passengers totaled 7.42 million in January, up 15.7 percent from a year earlier.
International and domestic cargo traffic rose 3.7 percent and 7.8 percent on-year to some 280,000 tons and 25,000 tons, respectively.