International Passenger Numbers in October Reach Highest Since COVID-19 Pandemic
Aviation Industry Expands International Flights Mainly on Japan and China Routes
On the 29th, staff members are guiding passengers at the international terminal boarding gate of Gimpo Airport in Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Junran] The monthly number of international passengers surpassed 2.5 million last month. As demand for overseas travel increases, the aviation industry is expanding international flights and accelerating recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels.
According to the aviation industry on the 2nd, the number of international passengers in October reached 2,508,357, an increase of more than 580,000 from 923,452 in the previous month. This is the largest scale since February 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic fully began, when the number was 3,971,511.
This year, the number of international passengers had remained low at around 300,000 to 400,000 due to concerns over the resurgence of COVID-19 and the global economic downturn. However, with the easing of quarantine standards and reduced COVID-19 concerns, the number gradually increased, surpassing 1 million in June.
Additionally, as popular routes centered on Japan resumed operations, the number exceeded 2 million for the first time since the pandemic in August, reaching 2.11 million. The recovery trend continued, surpassing 2.5 million last month, showing a clear increase in air travel demand.
Accordingly, low-cost carriers (LCCs) are expanding international flights. Jeju Air announced on the 2nd that it will resume weekly flights seven times a week on the Busan~Cebu route from the 8th and the Busan~Chiang Mai route from the 11th. Jin Air resumed flights from Busan to Fukuoka, Sapporo, and Osaka starting from the 30th of last month. T’way Air will start regular flights on the Cheongju~Da Nang route four times a week from January 11 next year.
The aviation industry is also increasing air routes to China, which had been reduced due to quarantine regulations. Korean Air increased the Incheon~Shenyang route to twice a week from the 25th of last month and launched a new Incheon~Dalian route once a week from the 28th. Asiana Airlines announced it will resume the Hangzhou route once a week from the 2nd and the Shenzhen route once a week from the 29th.
Jeju Air, Jin Air, and other LCCs are also reportedly discussing increasing flights to China. The aviation industry expects that the number of international flights will recover to about 60% of the peak winter season, as routes to Japan and China accounted for more than half of international flights before COVID-19.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has approved the resumption of international flights on 29 routes during this winter season from October 30 this year to March 25 next year. As a result, the total number of international routes during the winter season increased to 162 routes with 2,711 weekly flights. This is 57.5% of the international flights during the winter season of 2019, before the COVID-19 crisis.
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