Seoul, Oct 12 (NationPress) The count of unauthorised drones spotted in the airspace around Incheon International Airport, the primary gateway located west of Seoul, has experienced a notable decline this year, as reported on Sunday.

Data from Incheon International Airport Corp. indicates that only eight illegal drone flights lacking prior authorization from authorities were detected within the airport's controlled airspace, which spans a radius of 9.3 kilometers, from January to September.

In contrast, during the same nine-month timeframe last year, there were 24 unauthorised drone flights, and two years ago, the number soared to 74. The previous year, 2022, saw a staggering 119 incidents in the same timeframe, according to Yonhap news agency.

The airport authority credits this drop to the implementation of the revised Aviation Safety Act, which has raised the maximum penalty for illegal drone operations, in addition to ongoing public awareness initiatives and enhanced notifications regarding drone no-fly zones.

In a related note, over 210,000 passengers passed through Incheon International Airport each day during this year's eight-day Chuseok holiday, marking a record daily average for the holiday, as revealed on Sunday.

From October 2-9, an average of 217,613 travelers utilized the airport, reflecting a 6.4 percent increase from the same period last year, based on compiled data. Overall, 1.74 million passengers traveled through South Korea's major gateway airport during this period.

This figure represents the highest daily average for the Chuseok holiday since the airport's opening in 2001 and ranks second among all holiday periods, following the record daily average of 219,026 recorded during this year's Lunar New Year holiday, according to airport officials.

By region, 448,081 individuals traveled to and from Southeast Asia, followed closely by Japan with 431,827 and China with 296,168, as per the data.