Incheon International Airport handled 38.39 million international passengers in the first half of the year, ahead of Heathrow and Changi in preliminary global rankings. It is the first time Incheon has taken the top spot since opening in 2001.
The achievement is meaningful for Korea’s tourism and hub strategy, but part of the gain comes from a distorted global aviation map. The more important test will be whether Incheon can retain those passengers when Middle Eastern routes normalize.