Quarterly passenger numbers at Incheon International Airport topped 15 million for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the Incheon International Airport Corporation on Friday, the number of passengers using the airport surged nearly 181 percent on-year in the third quarter to stand at roughly 15-point-four million. 

The figure is 86 percent of the level posted in the third quarter of 2019, which is before the pandemic broke out. 

The last time quarterly passenger numbers exceeded 15 million was in the fourth quarter of 2019. 

Thanks to the peak summer holiday season, the airport saw the largest number of passengers since the pandemic on August 12 with nearly 194-thousand.

With demand for flights normalizing at a rapid pace, the airport corporation projected that passenger numbers will fully recover to pre-pandemic levels by next year, or a year earlier than its initial forecast.