Passenger aircraft traffic over South Korea rose 5.8 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier on a growing number of people taking international and domestic flights, the government said Tuesday.

The number of passenger planes taking off and landing at local airports and those overflying the country reached 132,000 aircraft in the three month period, from 123,000 a year earlier, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said.

The tally represents all private jets that flew within the Incheon Flight Information Region (FIR) that oversees aircraft traffic control over Korea's airspace.

The ministry said, on average, 1,450 planes flew within the Incheon FIR per day.

"The increase is mainly due to a sharp rise in people traveling abroad during winter vacation time and for spring break," it said.

International flights taking off and landing at Incheon International Airport, Korea's main hub air terminal rose 4.9 percent on-year from January through March.

Domestic flights to Jeju Island off the country's southern coast also jumped 10.3 percent.

The ministry, meanwhile, said flights coming under South Korea's flight control have jumped two-fold since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, reflecting a rise in air travelers in and around the country. (Yonhap)