The number of passengers that used the Incheon International Airport, the country's main gateway, has recovered to nearly 70 percent of pre-pandemic levels in the first half of the year. 

According to the Incheon International Airport Corporation on Monday, the number of passengers that took international flights reached roughly 24-point-four million in the first half, up more than sixfold from the same period last year and about 69 percent of pre-pandemic levels. 

With the surge in demand for air travel, the number of such passengers traveling  through the airport reached  171-thousand-896 on June 25, or the highest daily tally to be recorded since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The corporation added that the number of international flights operated in the first half jumped 117-point-five percent compared to the same period last year to around 147-thousand-800. The figure is nearly 75 percent of the number of such flights posted in the first half of 2019. 

The corporation attributed the rise in passengers to the surge in travelers to Japan and Southeast Asia amid eased quarantine regulations, multiple holidays in May and June and cheaper fares by low-cost carriers.