Aviation Industry: "Survival Impossible with Self-Help Measures Alone... Urgent Support Needed for Policy Funds"

On the 2nd, aircraft are parked at the apron of Incheon International Airport. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] The aviation industry, pushed to the brink of collapse due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, is repeatedly appealing for the government’s swift policy fund support. This is because survival is impossible with self-help measures such as unpaid leave alone.

On the 3rd, according to the aviation industry, the Korea Aviation Association sent an "Appeal for the Survival of the Aviation Industry" containing such content to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and the Financial Services Commission. The Korea Aviation Association is an organization with member companies including Korea Airports Corporation, Incheon International Airport Corporation, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, and Jeju Air.

Regarding this, the association stated, "Airlines and their employees are sharing all the pain and making bone-cutting efforts such as unpaid and paid leave and voluntary salary returns to overcome the crisis, but COVID-19 is so powerful that it is collapsing the foundation of our aviation industry," adding, "With almost no income, fixed costs of 900 billion KRW per month are accumulating as deficits, and debts maturing within the year amount to about 5.3 trillion KRW, causing both airlines and employees to worry about their survival tomorrow."

The association continued, "It is urgent to expand large-scale policy fund support, including expanding unsecured low-interest loans for all airlines and government payment guarantees for bonds, as well as various tax reductions such as exemption from aircraft property tax."

The association also emphasized the necessity of supporting the aviation industry as a national key industry. They said, "The aviation industry is a national key industry encompassing national security and the economy, handling 97% of international passengers and 30% of export-import volume, supporting the national economy," and "Please help so that the Korean aviation industry can take off again with prompt support and contribute to the national economy and public welfare."