S. Korea's air traffic grows about 6 pct in H1

SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's air traffic grew nearly 6 percent during the first half of this year from a year earlier as the economic recovery encouraged more travel, the transportation ministry said Thursday.
   A total of 249,766 flights flew in and out of South Korean airports during the January-June period, up 5.8 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to the ministry. This marked the all-time first-half high.
   The increase was attributed to the economic recovery, which bolstered both domestic and international travel. The ministry also cited an increase in budget carriers' flights on domestic routes as a reason for the rise.
   Air traffic for Incheon International Airport, the nation's main gateway located west of Seoul, grew 8.8 percent to 114,715 flights over the cited period, the ministry said.
   The airport in Jeju also logged a 6 percent increase with 56,254 flights flying in and out of the nation's southern resort island during the first half. The figure for the airport in Gimpo came to 73,417, up 5.1 percent from a year ago, according to the ministry.