Incheon Airport becomes world's busiest international hub

Incheon International Airport has become the world's busiest airport for international passenger traffic for the first time. According to preliminary data from the Airports Council International (ACI), the South Korean hub handled 38.39 million international passengers during the first half of 2026.

Incheon overtook London Heathrow, which recorded 37.79 million passengers, and Singapore's Changi Airport, which saw 34.53 million. The surge is attributed to geopolitical disruptions in the Middle East, specifically the conflict between the United States and Iran. This conflict has caused airlines to reroute long-haul flights away from Middle Eastern hubs like Dubai, shifting traffic toward Northeast Asian connection points.

As a result, Incheon saw an 18.1% increase in transfer passengers, reaching 4.24 million. Notably, transfer passengers with final destinations in Europe surged by 63.2% to 210,000. The airport's growth is also supported by increased tourism from China and Japan, as well as recent infrastructure expansions that increased its annual capacity to 106 million passengers.