The country’s air traffic increased nearly 45 percent last year from a year ago.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Friday, the combined number of international and domestic flights came to 780-thousand-635 in 2023, up 44-point-six percent from a year earlier.

The traffic reached 92-point-seven percent of the figure for 2019 before the outbreak of COVID-19.

The number of flights on international routes jumped 97-point-five percent on-year to over 545-thousand last year, with routes for Southeast Asia, southern China and Japan accounting for 48 percent.

In contrast, domestic flights, which soared to a record high in 2022, declined eleven percent on-year last year due to an increase in overseas travel.

Incheon International Airport witnessed the largest on-year growth in air traffic nationwide in 2023 at 82-point-seven percent, followed by Daegu International Airport with 43 percent and Gimhae International Airport with 31 percent.