According to the data compiled by Incheon International Airport Corp., transfer passengers at the airport totaled 7,251,000 in number, the lowest in four years.
The figure represents a decrease of 460,000 from 7,710,000 tallied in 2013.
The drop threatens the airport's status as an Asian hub airport, airport officials said.
They attributed the fall to the expansion of direct routes to North America by Chinese carriers and international flights at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, and Emirate Airlines' aggressive marketing activities.
The Incheon airport posted double-digit growth in transfer passengers in 2012 (21.1 percent) and 2013 (12.5 percent).
Its transfer rate, meaning the ratio of transfer passengers among all passengers, steadily rose from 11.4 percent in 2001 to 18.7 percent in 2013, before dropping to 16 percent last year. The airport opened in early 2001.
In 2014, the airport handled 44.9 million international flight passengers, up 10.1 percent from a year earlier, officials at the corporation said.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
