Incheon becomes world’s busiest airport for international traffic
Incheon International Airport ranked first globally in international passenger traffic in the first half of 2026, surpassing London Heathrow for the first time. The South Korean hub served 38.39 million international travellers, a 6.3% increase from the previous year.
The ranking is based on preliminary Airports Council International data for 1,234 airports worldwide, the Incheon International Airport Corporation reported. Heathrow took second place with 37.79 million passengers, followed by Singapore Changi with 34.53 million.
Incheon’s rise represents a significant improvement over its longer-term position. It was ranked 10th globally in international traffic in 2002, fifth in 2018, and third in 2024. For full-year 2025, ACI also placed Incheon third behind Dubai and Heathrow.
Transfer traffic helps lift Incheon above Heathrow
The airport operator attributed some of the first-half growth to changing long-haul travel patterns, including weaker transfer activity through major Middle Eastern hubs. Incheon handled 4.24 million transfer passengers, up 18.1%, while transfers involving European routes jumped 63.2% to 210,000.
Incheon now has capacity for about 106 million passengers a year after four phases of expansion. According to the operator, 101 passenger and cargo airlines link the airport with 183 cities in 53 countries.
Read more: New Tashkent airport with 20mn passenger capacity set to launch by 2030
The airport is a gateway to South Korea for several Central Asian carriers. Uzbekistan Airways operates direct passenger flights from Tashkent (TAS), as do Centrum Air and Qanot Sharq. Kazakhstan’s Air Astana provides direct non-stop routes from both Almaty (ALA) and Astana (NQZ), while South Korean low-cost carrier T’way Air connects Incheon with Kyrgyzstan.
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