Over 1.34 million South Koreans are expected to travel overseas during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, with many planning to extend their time off by taking extra leave, potentially turning the break into a 10-day holiday.
Data from the Incheon International Airport Corp. and the Korea Airports Corp., submitted to Rep. Yeom Tae-young of the Democratic Party, reveals that 1,340,295 passengers are projected to depart from six international airports in South Korea between Friday and February 2.
Of this total, 1.04 million are expected to depart from Incheon International Airport, the country’s busiest airport, located west of Seoul. An additional 293,649 passengers are expected to fly out from regional airports in Gimhae, Jeju, and Daegu.
Saturday is expected to see the highest number of departures, with 153,000 passengers, while Tuesday, the eve of Lunar New Year Day, is forecast to have the fewest, with only 115,000 passengers.
To accommodate the increased demand, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has increased the number of flights by 7%, totaling 19,351 flights. Additionally, available seating capacity has been expanded by 5.8%, reaching 4.22 million seats.
Although the holiday season was initially set to last three days, the government designated Monday as a temporary national holiday, extending the break to six days.
