S. Korea's int'l airline traffic grows to record high in 2013

South Korea's international airline traffic rose to a new record high in 2013, the government said Friday, reflecting a surge in the number of passengers to and from the country.

The total number of international flights to and from the country came to 380,744 last year, up 6.6 percent from 357,276 in 2012, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The country's overall airline traffic also reached a record high of some 585,000 flights last year as domestic air traffic rose 5 percent on-year to 204,273 flights.

The ministry cited an increase in the number of passengers to and from the country, which climbed 6.7 percent on-year to over 24.4 million in the first half of last year. The figure for the whole of 2013 is expected later in the month.

"The International Civil Aviation Organization expects the world's airline traffic to double from 30 million flights in 2011 to 60 million in 2030. The country's airline traffic, too, is expected to continue its upward trend on the country's economic growth and a rise in the number of holidays," the ministry said in a press release. (Yonhap News)