Korean Air Suspends Gimpo-Yeosu Route Closure... "Further Review on Resumption"

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Korean Air announced on the 26th that it has decided to postpone the discontinuation of the Gimpo~Yeosu route.

Previously, Korean Air had been considering suspending operations on the Yeosu route due to chronic deficits caused by the KTX and the entry of new airlines. Recently, the airline planned to file a suspension of operations report with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to discontinue the Yeosu route, but abandoned the plan due to growing local opposition to the discontinuation.

However, Korean Air will further review whether to resume the Yeosu route, which has been suspended since March due to financial difficulties caused by COVID-19. It is also known that Kim Hoe-jae (Yeosu-eul), a member of the Democratic Party who opposed the route discontinuation, recently confirmed this position with Korean Air.

Rep. Kim said, "No matter how difficult the company’s situation is, decisions on route discontinuation should not be made hastily without consultation with local residents."

Meanwhile, Korean Air, which started operating the Gimpo~Yeosu route in May 1972, has operated two Yeosu routes including Yeosu~Jeju, but the number of passengers has dropped to less than half due to the opening of the KTX, resulting in annual deficits of several billion won over the years.

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