Government Operates 'Emergency Aviation Task Force' to Respond to Expanded Entry Restrictions from Korea

Korean tourists who arrived on the first charter flight operated by the Israeli government are exiting the arrival hall of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport on the 25th. / Yeongjongdo - Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The government is forming an emergency aviation task force (TF) to respond to entry restrictions on passengers from Korean flight routes due to the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that starting from the 27th, it will operate an emergency aviation task force led by Kim Itak, Director of Aviation Policy, consisting of policy, international, operations, security, and airport teams.

As of 10 a.m. on the same day, 19 countries including Israel have imposed entry bans on arrivals from Korea, and 13 countries including Taiwan are expanding entry restrictions such as strengthening entry procedures.

Fourteen countries, including the United States and Australia, where air passenger demand is high, have raised travel alerts for Korea. Japan is banning entry of foreigners who have visited Daegu or Cheongdo within the past 14 days.

Accordingly, through the TF, the government plans to quickly grasp international trends related to flight routes, actively respond using diplomatic channels and aviation authorities, and analyze the impact on the international aviation network and the Korean aviation industry to review and promote government-level countermeasures.

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, due to the spread of COVID-19, the total number of international passengers in the first to third weeks of this month was 3.1 million, a 43.7% decrease compared to the same period last year. This is less than half of the 7.6 million passengers in December last year, before the COVID-19 situation fully escalated.

Kim Itak, Director of Aviation Policy at the Ministry, said, "With the spread of COVID-19, the decrease in air passengers is increasing recently not only in the Greater China region such as China and Japan but also in the Americas, Middle East, and Europe," adding, "Through the operation of the emergency aviation task force, we will make all-out efforts to minimize the inconvenience to our citizens and the negative impact on the aviation industry."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.