Airlines Reduce Domestic Flights and Increase International Routes

Airlines are reducing domestic flights and increasing international flights in response to the demand for travel to Japan. As flights to Japan have increased, the previously soaring prices of airline tickets to Japan have also dropped.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's aviation information system Air Portal, a total of 42,941 flights operated in January. Of these, 15,703 were domestic flights and 27,238 were international flights. Compared to January last year, domestic flights decreased by 17.78% from 19,099 flights, while international flights increased by 140.47% from 11,327 flights.

The significant increase in international flights began in September last year. The number of international flights rose from 15,875 in September to 18,210 in October. In November, it exceeded 20,000 with 21,807 flights, and in December last year, it reached 25,267 flights.

The reason for the increase in international flights and the decrease in domestic flights is largely due to the rise in flights to Japan. When the skies were closed due to COVID-19, airlines increased flights to and from Jeju. However, in the second half of last year, as Japan routes became active, many flights that were originally destined for Jeju changed their destination to Japan.

In January, the number of domestic visitors to Jeju was 1.04 million, a decrease of more than 10% compared to the same period last year. On the other hand, the number of passengers on Japan routes in January was 1.33 million, an 8.3-fold increase compared to 160,000 in August last year. An airline official explained, "The reason domestic flights were more frequent until recently was due to the special circumstances of COVID-19."

As a result, prices for flights to Jeju have surged, while prices for flights to Japan have decreased. Round-trip tickets from Incheon International Airport to Narita Airport have dropped to as low as 350,000 KRW. This route used to exceed 800,000 KRW until last year. Additionally, most routes have become cheaper compared to last year, with Sapporo tickets starting at around 250,000 KRW and Osaka around 300,000 KRW.

An aviation industry official said, "Airfare prices vary according to supply and demand," adding, "Since airlines are adjusting supply to meet the demand for Japan, airfare prices have also decreased."