The ministry attributed the record August tally to a steady increase in the number of overseas travelers.

International air passenger traffic surged 10.9 percent on-year to a record high of 7.82 million last month thanks to increased demand for outbound trips during the summer vacation season, more flights from low-cost carriers and China's move to allow some group tours to South Korea.

Passenger traffic on Chinese routes spiked 24.9 percent to 1.58 million, but it was off 23.6 percent from the same month in 2016.

China banned the sale of travel packages to South Korea in March 2017 due to a diplomatic row with Seoul over the deployment of a US anti-missile system in South Korea. China has since partially lifted the ban.

Domestic passenger traffic dropped 5.5 percent on-year to 2.76 million last month, affected by decreased numbers of flights and seasonal factors such as a record heat wave.

The ministry expected air passenger traffic to continue its uptrend in September on diversified overseas flight routes and increased demand for overseas trips during the Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, holiday.

Air cargo traffic expanded 3.2 percent on-year to 380,000 tons in August, bolstered by increased shipments to China, Southeast Asia and Oceania, according to the ministry. (Yonhap)