An average of close to 12-hundred aircraft a day flew through South Korean airspace between January and June, indicating a recovery in the travel sector led by domestic flights.

According to the Transport Ministry's tally on air traffic in the year's first half, the volume is down five percent on-year at 217-thousand planes, but is up 12 percent compared to the second half of 2020. 

April recorded the largest monthly traffic of 42-thousand planes.

Of this total, international flights, which include those passing through to foreign destinations, decreased more than 28 percent on-year to 93-thousand in the first six months. In contrast, domestic flights jumped nearly 26 percent to 124-thousand.

International air traffic plummeted amid the pandemic but the figure has been slowly rising since March while domestic flights posted sharp gains from February and have now recovered to pre-pandemic levels.