렛미톡광장

Rise in Overseas Travel Helps Airline Industry
작성자  : 관리자
The domestic airline industry was one of the most affected industries during the coronavirus pandemic. The number of flights in and out of Korea dramatically dropped as countries enacted strict social-distancing measures.

Recently, many of these restrictive measures have been lifted throughout the world. As a result, local airlines are slowly but surely recovering from the financial slump of the past several years.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport,* the number of outbound travelers from Korea reached 3.08 million in November 2022. Although this is still much smaller than the pre-Covid numbers in 2019, it is nevertheless a 734 percent increase from November 2021.

Moreover, the rise in overseas travelers will likely continue in 2023. For example, Japan, a popular travel destination for Koreans, resumed its no-visa entry policy in October 2022. Since then, the demand for flights to and from Japan has skyrocketed and is now at 83 percent of the level in 2019.

To meet the increasing demand for overseas travel, airlines are expanding their number of international flights. Overall, a total of 21,807 passenger planes flew abroad in November 2022, which is a 19.8 percent increase from the same period in the previous year.

This positive trend is allowing many low-cost carriers (LCCs),* as well as the entire airline industry, to start making up for the heavy losses they experienced during the pandemic.

Furthermore, plane tickets to Southeast Asian countries are expected to be in high demand during the winter months. This is because many Koreans will look to escape the cold weather of their native country and spend their vacation in warmer climates.

* Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport 국토교통부

* low-cost carriers (LCCs) 저가 항공사