The Third Lowest Performance Since 1997
39.4 Million Air Passengers... 68% Decrease
International Flights Hit Hard... Japan and China Down Over 80%
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] Last year, due to the impact of COVID-19, the number of air passengers recorded the third lowest performance since 1997.
According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 14th, the number of air passengers last year was recorded at 39.4 million, a 68.1% decrease compared to the previous year. This is the third lowest performance after 33.61 million in 1998 and 37.89 million in 1999.
The number of air passengers had been increasing annually from 10,391 in 2016 to 10,936 in 2017, 11,753 in 2018, and 12,337 in 2019, but last year, due to the sharp decline in overseas travel caused by COVID-19, air passenger performance shrank to levels seen about 20 years ago.
International and domestic passengers decreased by 84.2% and 23.7% respectively compared to the previous year. Air cargo increased by 0.4% in international cargo (excluding baggage), but due to a significant drop in passenger baggage performance, it decreased by 23.9% compared to the previous year.
The number of international passengers, which was hit hard by COVID-19, decreased by 84.2% compared to the previous year to about 14.24 million. All routes saw a decline in performance, including Japan (-88.2%), China (-87.8%), Asia (-83.4%), Europe (-82.2%), and the Americas (-72.3%).
The Japan route saw a sharp 88.2% drop in passenger numbers last year compared to the previous year, due to the combined effects of export regulations in July 2019, visa-free entry bans in March last year, and the impact of COVID-19. Its share of international passengers also fell from first place in 2019 to second place last year, recording 15.6%.
The China route also saw an 87.8% decrease compared to the previous year, but the decline was less severe than Japan’s. It accounted for 15.8% of international passengers last year, rising from second place in 2019 to first place last year.
The U.S. route was growing early last year but saw a sharp decline in passenger numbers from March onward, resulting in a 72.3% decrease compared to the previous year. It accounted for 9.2% of international passengers, increasing its share from seventh place in 2019 to fourth place last year.
Looking at airports, passenger numbers sharply declined at all airports including Incheon (-83.1%), Jeju (-89.4%), Gimpo (-87.3%), and Gimhae (-88.0%). The decrease in international passengers was slightly greater for low-cost carriers (-86.7%) than for major airlines (-82.3%).
Last year, domestic passengers totaled 25.16 million, a 23.7% decrease compared to the previous year.
Inland travel decreased by 2.8%, and travel to Jeju Island decreased by 27.2%. Domestic air travel, which declined due to COVID-19, showed a relatively quick recovery, achieving a 2.5% growth in November last year (2.94 million passengers) compared to the same month the previous year, but slowed again as the third wave of the pandemic spread at the end of last year.
Except for Yangyang Airport (535.7%) and Pohang Airport (100.2%), passenger numbers on Jeju routes decreased at all airports compared to the previous year.
On domestic routes, major airlines transported 8.29 million domestic passengers, a 40.4% decrease compared to the previous year, while low-cost carriers transported 16.87 million passengers, an 11.5% decrease compared to the previous year.
Air cargo decreased by 23.9% compared to the previous year as the number of grounded passenger aircraft increased domestically and internationally, but cargo excluding baggage decreased by only 0.6% compared to the previous year.
Domestic cargo performance declined on all routes, including inland routes (-53.3%) and Jeju (-26.8%), falling 29.7% compared to the previous year to 180,000 tons.
Kim Sangdo, Director of the Aviation Policy Office at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "Last year was difficult for the aviation industry due to COVID-19, but thanks to the government's proactive and aggressive support measures and the aviation industry's strong efforts to overcome the crisis, the damage was minimized," adding, "Since the impact of COVID-19 is expected to continue this year, we will do our best to help the aviation industry recover demand quickly."
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