Int'l passenger traffic falls in April on Japan quake

SEOUL (Yonhap) - The number of passengers using international flights in and out of South Korea fell in April from a year ago as people avoided visiting quake-hit Japan due to lingering radiation fears, the transportation ministry said Tuesday.
The number of passengers who traveled on international flights came to 3.07 million last month, down 2 percent from a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.
The decline stemmed mostly from a plunge in travelers bound for Japan after the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis, the ministry said. Travelers using flights for Japan totaled 616,491 in April, down 30.3 percent from the same month a year earlier.
People instead chose other regions for overseas travel, the ministry said. The number of travelers to Europe and Southeast Asian countries jumped 20.1 percent and 11.5 percent, respectively.
International air cargo was also affected by the disaster in Japan. Air cargo shipped by international flights amounted to 293,000 tons in April, down 3.3 percent from a year earlier.
The ministry attributed the contraction to sluggish exports of flat panels and mobile phones coupled with weakened trade with Japan. Air cargo shipped to Japan dropped 10.9 percent, leading the overall decline.