Seoul to help restore int’l flights to 50 pct by year’s end
South Korea said Wednesday it will help restore the number of inbound and outbound international flights to 50 percent of the 2019 level by the year’s end to meet pent-up travel demand amid eased virus curbs.
Domestic and multinational airlines offered 4,714 international flights through Incheon International Airport and other local airports in late 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the airline industry. In April, the figure plunged to 420, or 8.9 percent of the pre-pandemic level, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
“The government will initially focus on helping local airlines increase the number of flights to the United States, Europe and other quarantine-free countries,” to which South Koreans’ travel demand is high, a land ministry official said over the phone.
The government aims to help carriers increase the weekly number of international flights by 100 every month from May to June and then raise the flights by 300 from July until COVID-19 is turned into an endemic, which authorities hope will be realized in late October, he said.
If the flight restoration goes as planned, the number of the country’s overall international flights will reach 2,420 a week, or 51 percent of the 2019 level, in November, the ministry said in a statement.
Once COVID-19 becomes endemic, the government will aim for a full recovery of international flights.
Local airlines, including full-service carriers Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc., and leading budget carrier Jeju Air Co., plan to provide more flights on their international routes starting May.
Korean Air said it will increase flights on routes to major destinations such as Hawaii, Toronto, Paris, Guam and Sydney from next month.
Asiana plans to offer more flights on routes to Los Angeles and Sydney, while considering raising the number of flights to Japan, Vietnam and Cambodia.
Jeju Air said it will increase flights to Manila, Narita and Osaka from next month.
The country’s COVID-19 wave has been on the downturn for the third week in a row, and demand for overseas travel is expected to go up as foreign nations are gradually lifting quarantine requirements after passing their omicron infection peaks, Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said during a government coronavirus response meeting.
“Ending its 10-week ascent, the (daily) infection tally has been on the decline for a third consecutive week,” Jeon said. “The average daily infections over the past week came to some 270,000, about 30 percent less than the previous week.”
This year, demand for overseas travel is expected to recover to about 83 percent of the level seen before the pandemic across the globe and 40 percent for the Asian market, the ministry said.
The government will also normalize international flight services at regional airports, adding Muan, Cheongju and Jeju International Airport could resume international routes next month while other regional airports will follow suit down the road, Jeon said.
