The number of passengers at Incheon International Airport rebounded for the first time in three years with the lifting of COVID-19 entry restrictions.

According to the Incheon International Airport Corporation on Sunday, nearly 17-point-87 million people traveled via the country's main gateway in 2022.

It marks a spike of 460 percent from a year earlier when the figure posted three-point-19 million, the lowest since the outbreak of COVID-19.

The passenger number fell from 71 million in 2019 before the pandemic to 12 million in 2020, then fell 74 percent on-year in 2021.

The 2022 tally marks the first rebound in three years, but remains at 25 percent of the levels seen in 2019.

The rise in last year's figure is mostly attributed to a spike in travelers to and from Japan, which surged 13 times to two-point-18 million.