First Half Year Air Passenger Traffic Down 30% Year-on-Year... Domestic Flights Recover to Pre-COVID Levels

Domestic Passenger Traffic Up 45.8%, Cargo Up 8.8%
International Passenger Traffic Not Recovered... Down 90.8%

[Asia Economy Reporter Kangwook Cho] Due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, air passenger traffic in the first half of this year decreased by about 30% compared to the same period last year. However, in the case of domestic flights, both passenger and air cargo volumes showed signs of recovery to pre-COVID-19 levels.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 15th that air passenger traffic in the first half of this year was recorded at 16.67 million, a 29.3% decrease compared to the first half of last year.

Air passenger traffic, which reached 61.56 million in the first half of 2019 before the COVID-19 outbreak, sharply dropped to 23.58 million in the first half of last year and further decreased to 16.67 million in the first half of this year.

Domestic passengers recover to 15.48 million... International passengers down 90.8%

In the case of domestic passengers and air cargo, performance has recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels. In particular, domestic passenger numbers have surpassed pre-COVID-19 levels.

Domestic passengers in the first half of this year reached 15.48 million, a sharp increase of 45.8% compared to the first half of last year. This figure is also 3.2% higher compared to the first half of 2019. The Jeju route and inland routes surged by 31.5% and 126.7%, respectively, compared to last year.

Especially in May, domestic passengers increased by a remarkable 65.0% compared to May of last year. This is the highest monthly performance since the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport began compiling monthly statistics in 1997.

By airport, passenger traffic increased at all airports including Jeju (30.6%), Gimpo (48.6%), Gimhae (75.4%), and Cheongju (50.5%). By airline, full-service carriers (FSC) transported 4.17 million passengers, a 2.2% increase compared to the first half of last year. Low-cost carriers (LCC) transported 11.31 million passengers, a sharp increase of 73.1% compared to the first half of last year.

On the other hand, international passengers in the first half of this year were recorded at 1.19 million, a 90.8% decrease compared to the same period last year.

Air cargo at 1.75 million tons... Increased net cargo leads to 8.8% growth over last year

Air cargo (net cargo + passenger baggage) totaled 1.75 million tons, an 8.8% increase compared to the same period last year. It also increased by 16.2% compared to the first half of 2019. Net cargo excluding baggage increased by 21.6% compared to the first half of last year and by 17.2% compared to the same period in 2019, despite the COVID-19 situation.

As international passenger demand declined due to the prolonged pandemic, the sharp drop in baggage was mostly offset by the increase in net cargo (such as transportation of quarantine supplies and shortage of maritime shipping capacity).

International cargo in the first half of this year was 1.66 million tons, an 8.6% increase compared to the first half of last year. By region, increases were seen in the Americas (29.1%), Japan (12.1%), Europe (6.9%), and China (2.8%). Among these, net cargo increased by 22.6% compared to the first half of last year.

Domestic cargo was 94,000 tons, a 12.7% increase compared to the first half of last year. Inland routes and Jeju routes increased by 3.8% and 13.5%, respectively.

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