The number of flight passengers traveling from South Korea to Japan hit a record high of approximately 9 million in the first four months of this year, government data showed Tuesday.
A total of 8.88 million passengers flew from domestic airports to Japan from Jan. 1 to April 28, according to the data from the Incheon International Airport Corporation and Korea Airports Corporation.
With an average of around 49,000 people using Incheon International Airport daily in April, the total number is estimated to have reached over 9 million during the January-April period.
The estimated figure marks an 8.8 percent increase compared with the same period from last year and the highest ever recorded for the route.
The rise in travel to Japan is attributed to airlines expanding routes and offering promotional travel packages.
Air traffic to China has also surged thanks to Beijing's implementation of a visa-free policy for Korean travelers in November.
A total of 5.72 million passengers used the China route from November to March, jumping 29.4 percent from the same period a year ago. (Yonhap)
