North Chungcheong Province said on the 13th that a total of 480,000 passengers used Cheongju International Airport in January this year. That was up 47.7% (160,000) from the same month last year (320,000).
Among all passengers, 227,000 used international routes, the most on record. Excluding Incheon Airport, that was the fourth highest among regional airports after Gimhae, Gimpo, and Jeju airports.
The province said Cheongju Airport is quickly rising beyond a regional base airport to become the core gateway airport for the central region.
The increase in Cheongju Airport users resulted from new and additional flights focused on routes to Japan, Southeast Asia, and China. During the holiday period from Feb. 13 to 18, the province plans to operate a total of 604 flights, including 298 domestic flights by seven airlines and 306 international flights by five airlines. Compared with the Lunar New Year holiday period last year, the number of flights is up 56% and passengers are up 46%.
If this growth continues, the province projected that Cheongju Airport will surpass 5 million passengers this year.
Kim Min-jung, head of the balanced development division at North Chungcheong Province, said, "The sharp increase in international passengers is a clear indicator of Cheongju Airport's competitiveness and growth potential," adding, "We will push to build a private-use runway with a goal of reaching 5 million passengers this year."