Due to the popularity of Jeju as a holiday spot in South Korea, the air route from Jeju to Seoul is the busiest airline route in the world. In 2019, there were 85,000 flights from eight different airlines, meanwhile, 17 million seats were sold on flights between
Gimpo and Jeju. As Jeju has gained popularity as a resort destination, the number of international visitors from China, Malaysia, Thailand, and Japan has increased. In 1997, Jeju airport handled nine million passengers. In 2019, the airport passed the 30 million milestone despite being designed to handle a maximum of 26 million passengers. In 2020, the number of international visitors dropped due to
COVID-19. However, the Seoul-Jeju route remained the busiest in the world and flight delays are still common. In 2019, the
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport announced a US$4.18 billion construction plan that would begin in 2021 near Seogwipo City in southern Jeju. The airport would take 50% of the domestic flights to Jeju and would help to transfer flights during bad weather. The airport would accommodate 18.98 million passengers per year. However, in 2021 the
Ministry of Environment cancelled the plans due to their failure to protect the local environment, including Jeju's extensive groundwater reserves, and protected species in the area, such as the
narrow-mouthed frog. A new US$5.1 billion airport plan was provisionally approved in 2023 with no project completion date set.
Traffic by calendar year Domestic traffic by route Busiest international routes ==Accidents and incidents==