Seoul, Jul 31 (IANS): The number of international flight passengers from South Korea recovered to 64.8 per cent of the pre-Covid level in the first half of this year, government data showed on Monday.

A total of 29.5 million people boarded international flights between January and June, accounting for 64.8 per cent of the 45.6 million tallied over the same period in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

By destination, the number of travelers to the Middle East and Africa recovered at the fastest pace, with 527,000 boarding flights to the regions, up 11.3 per cent from 474,000 tallied in the same period in 2019, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Some 2.63 million people traveled to North America and South America, accounting for 98.8 per cent of the corresponding tally of 2.66 million logged in 2019.

The recovery rate of passengers heading to Japan was 75.5 per cent, followed by the Asian region, except for Japan and China, with 73 per cent and Oceania with 72.8 per cent.

The number of passengers to Europe fell below the average recovery, accounting for 61.7 per cent of the pre-pandemic level, partly due to the suspension of flights to Russia amid the ongoing war with Ukraine.

Additionally, 1.83 million passengers flew to China in the first half, only 21 per cent of the pre-pandemic level.