People wait in line in front of check-in counter at Incheon International Airport, Incheon, Sunday. (Yonhap)

The number of South Korean air passengers using domestic carriers increased in the first half to around 84 percent of pre-pandemic levels, government data showed Sunday.

According to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 53.4 million air passengers used both domestic and international routes in the first six months 2023, around 84 percent of the 63.6 million passengers in the January-June period of 2019.

2019 was the second year passenger numbers exceeded 60 million, but that plunged to some 30.1 million in 2020. The figure remained relatively unchanged in 2021 and slightly increased only slightly to 39.5 million in 2022.

The number of passengers on domestic routes have recovered most dramatically, reaching 32.8 million, up 1.2 percent from 32.4 million four years ago.

The number of passengers who used international routes have been recovering at a relatively slower pace. The number of passengers to international destinations came to 20.6 million, accounting for 66 percent of the figure reported in 2019.

Low-cost carriers have benefited from large increases in passengers on domestic routes.

South Korean budget airline T'way Air’s passenger numbers increased around 30 percent in the first half this year to reach 7.3 million, up from 5.6 million in the six-month period in 2019. Another budget carrier, Jin Air, also saw a 14 percent increase in the number of passengers compared to four years ago.

The number of passengers using Korea's two main flag carriers, however, recovered at a slower pace. Korean Air had 12.28 million passengers in the January-June period, 69.8 percent of the number reported in the same period of 2019. Asiana Airlines had 9 million passengers, about 68 percent of the 2019 figure.

Meanwhile, the country’s air cargo shipments reached 1.4 million tons during the first half this year, 91.2 percent of the volume reported in the same period four years ago.