The number of passengers using South Korean airports posted the first drop in 12 years due to the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data by Statistics Korea on Sunday, the number of people using 15 airports across the nation came to 65 million in 2020, down 58-point-eight percent from a year earlier.

It marks the first drop in 12 years since 2008, when the country was going through the global financial crisis. At that time, the number of airport users fell one-point-seven percent on-year to 69-point-nine million.

Jeju Airport attracted the most passengers with 21 million last year, followed by Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul with 17-point-five million.

However, Incheon International Airport, the country's main gateway, saw the number of passengers fall to about 12 million last year, a sharp decline from 71 million the previous year.