For the first time, this airport has been named the world’s busiest for international travellers
Updated . First published at
Seoul Incheon has been named the world’s busiest airport for international travellers for the first six months of 2026.
It served 38.4 million passengers, according to data from the Airports Council International (ACI), up 6.3 per cent from a year earlier. It’s the first time the South Korean hub has climbed to the top of the rankings.
Incheon International Airport is the largest airport in South Korea. nna\advidler
Remaining in second place is London Heathrow, with 37.8 million passengers, followed by Changi Airport in Singapore, with 34.5 million.
Incheon, which opened in 2001, has steadily climbed the rankings over the years. It was 10th in the world in 2002, fifth in 2018 and third in 2024 and 2025.
It took the top spot as passengers avoided the Middle East due to the conflict between the US and Iran. Dubai is expected to drop significantly in the year-end rankings.
Yonhap News Agency quoted Incheon airport officials as saying the number of transfer passengers in the first half of this year jumped 18.1 per cent from a year earlier. That number rose to 63.2 per cent for passengers transferring on European routes.
South Korea has been booming for Aussie travellers. iStock
Incheon connects 183 cities across 53 countries. Korean Air flies between Auckland and Seoul daily.
Incheon International Airport Corp acting President Kim Beom-ho told the Korea Herald: “We’re grateful for the government’s support, the public’s encouragement and the hard work of everyone stationed at the airport in making Incheon the world’s No. 1 airport.”
The world’s busiest airport overall, when you include both domestic and international travellers, is Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson. It catered to a massive 106.3 million passengers in 2025. The US airport is the main hub for Delta Air Lines.
This story was originally published by Stuff and has been reproduced here with permission.
