Seoul, Aug. 13 (SANA) South Korea’s Incheon International Airport became the world’s busiest airport by international passenger traffic for the first time, according to preliminary data from the Airports Council International.
Incheon handled 38.4 million international passengers in the first six months of the year, ahead of London’s Heathrow with 37.79 million and Singapore’s Changi with 34.53 million.
The airport attributed the rise partly to passengers shifting from Middle Eastern aviation hubs amid the conflict between the United States and Iran. Transfer passengers at Incheon rose 18% year-on-year, while those bound for Europe increased 63.2% to 210,000.
Dubai International Airport, which ranked second in 2024 and 2025 based on full-year statistics, is expected to fall outside the top five. Incheon ranked 12th and 13th in those years.
The airport, which opened in 2001, serves 158 international destinations. Its operator said expanded infrastructure had enabled it to handle more traffic and that it planned to strengthen competitiveness by focusing on passenger convenience
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