Government Provides Additional Support for 'Aviation, Transportation, Tourism, Export, Shipping' Including Bus Expressway Toll and Aviation Stopover Fee Exemptions

Announcement of the '2nd Emergency Support Measures by Industry and Sector' at the Crisis Management Countermeasure Meeting

Immediate Implementation of Landing Fee Reduction for Aviation

Bus Toll Exemption on Highways to be Promoted

Expansion of Emergency Fund Support for the Tourism Industry

On the 9th, aircraft are parked at the apron of Incheon International Airport. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Ju Sang-don] The government has decided to provide additional support for sectors severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, including 'aviation, transportation, tourism, export, and shipping.' For aviation, the planned landing fee reduction originally scheduled for June will be implemented immediately, and buses will be temporarily exempted from highway tolls.

On the morning of the 18th, the government held the 1st Crisis Management Countermeasure Meeting and announced the 2nd emergency support measures by industry and sector related to COVID-19.

Previously, the government prepared a comprehensive support package worth 32 trillion KRW in three phases to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, including strengthening emergency quarantine systems. However, due to significant damage caused by the decline in domestic and international travel demand and consumption, industries such as aviation, transportation, tourism, export, shipping, and logistics have experienced cumulative losses. Therefore, the government deemed it urgent to prevent further spread and prolongation of damage and decided to provide additional emergency support.

First, in aviation, the average daily passengers at Incheon International Airport dropped from 190,000 on March 16 last year to 16,000 on March 16 this year, a 91.6% decrease. The Korea Air Transport Association forecasts airline revenue losses of at least 6.3 trillion KRW by June this year. If the situation continues, there is a risk of airline bankruptcies and collapse of the international air network.

For buses, sales in February this year decreased by 27.6 billion KRW (-46%) for express buses, 42.6 billion KRW (-43%) for intercity buses, and 19.7 billion KRW (-22%) for city buses (Seoul).

In addition to previous support measures, the government will expand the waiver of unused traffic rights and slots due to overseas entry restrictions (150 countries as of the 18th) and flight suspensions from China routes to all routes for the aviation industry.

Fee reductions for airlines and support for ground handling companies will also be implemented. The landing fee reduction, originally scheduled for June, will be implemented immediately, and the reduction rate will be increased up to 20% (20% at Incheon Airport, 10% at Korea Airports Corporation). The estimated reduction amount for March and April is about 11.4 billion KRW.

To alleviate parking fees for airlines due to flight suspensions, aircraft parking fees at all airports nationwide will be fully waived for three months (March to May), amounting to approximately 7.9 billion KRW. Additionally, payment of air navigation facility usage fees (about 230,000 KRW) charged upon international flight landings will be deferred for three months, totaling 12 billion KRW. Commercial facility rents at airports with suspended flights will be fully waived for small and medium-sized enterprises and small business owners (totaling 1.1 billion KRW). Ground handling fees for domestic airlines operating at Gwangmyeong Station Urban Airport Terminal (1,950 KRW per check-in) will also be fully waived for seven months (about 100 million KRW).

To help the bus industry overcome COVID-19 damages, highway tolls will be exempted until the crisis alert level is downgraded to 'caution.' Additionally, temporary reductions in the number of runs will be considered for routes with passenger declines exceeding 50%, and the mandatory installation deadline for video recording devices on charter buses will be extended by up to six months (from April to October).

Due to the sharp decline in inbound tourists and overseas travelers caused by the spread of COVID-19 and entry restrictions, which have worsened management difficulties and caused mass layoffs in the tourism industry, the government will expand the scale of emergency fund support. Considering the high demand from the tourism industry with insufficient collateral capacity, the amount of unsecured credit guarantee special loans will be increased from 50 billion KRW to 100 billion KRW. Furthermore, the scope of deferred repayment and maturity extension (up to one year) for tourism fund loans will be expanded by 100 billion KRW to reduce the industry's burden.

For 200 small theaters in the basic performing arts sector struggling due to performance cancellations and fixed costs, support will be provided for performance planning and production. Up to 60 million KRW per venue will be supported for planning, production expenses, and promotion costs. To help recover performance demand, discount tickets worth 8,000 KRW per audience member will be provided.

The shipping sector, which is also facing difficulties due to the suspension of passenger transport between Korea and China and Korea and Japan, will receive additional support. The reduction rate for port facility usage fees and rents will be increased by 10% for Korea-Japan ferry companies. Commercial tenants such as duty-free shops and convenience stores will receive rent reductions of up to 100%.

The government will regularly monitor the progress of previously announced measures through crisis management meetings and promptly resolve any difficulties that arise. It will also continue to assess additional damages by sector and industry, recovery status, and domestic and international conditions, and devise further support measures if necessary to overcome damages.

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