Japan's Full Recovery Hits Record High This Year... 9.4 Million Airport Passengers in October

Rising Recovery Speed Leads to Record High Travelers This Year... Impact of Japan Travel Resumption
"Passenger Transport Volume Expected to Trend Upward Next Year"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] The number of passengers using domestic airports in October nearly reached 9.4 million, marking the highest figure this year. This increase is attributed to the resumption of travel to Japan, which led to a rise in passengers on that route. The surge in international passengers is also expected to accelerate the performance improvement of domestic airlines.

According to the aviation industry on the 7th, the number of passengers at domestic airports last month was 9,395,910, a 23.1% increase compared to 7,634,825 in September. Incheon International Airport recorded 2,303,404 passengers, while 14 other airports excluding Incheon handled 7,092,506 passengers. This is the highest number recorded this year.

The previous peak at Incheon International Airport was 1,951,123 passengers in August, and for the 14 airports including Gimpo Airport excluding Incheon, the highest was 7,031,326 passengers in May.

The increase in airport passengers last month is attributed to the resumption of travel to Japan. The Japanese government resumed visa-free entry for South Korean travelers from the 11th of last month, marking the first time in 2 years and 7 months since March 9, 2020. Among airlines operating Japan routes last month, Jeju Air transported a total of 87,800 passengers, ranking first among domestic carriers. Korean Air was second with 72,572 passengers, followed by Jin Air (57,401), Air Busan (55,312), and Asiana Airlines (50,541).

With the recovery of Japan routes, domestic airlines’ passenger business is expected to recover rapidly. Until now, domestic airlines have been suffering from high exchange rates and high interest rates, and the Japan routes are acting like a much-needed relief. An airline official explained, "It was bleak as planes couldn’t even take off, but although not like before, the situation is improving as international flights have increased since last month."

In particular, routes to China are also being increased. Although not yet at pre-COVID-19 levels, if recovery extends to China, airlines’ performance improvement is expected to accelerate further. Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, Jin Air, T’way Air, Air Busan, and Air Seoul are all pushing for increased or resumed flights on China routes.

Park Soo-young, a researcher at Hanwha Investment & Securities, said, "Since the full-scale resumption of Japan route operations on the 11th of last month, the number of daily passengers has been increasing. Although the economic downturn may have somewhat dampened demand recovery elasticity, the increase in passenger transport volume is expected to continue through next year."