Incheon Airport to Increase Flight Operations Next Summer Compared to Pre-COVID-19 Levels

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Incheon International Airport is expected to recover the number of aircraft operations to pre-COVID-19 levels in the second half of 2023.

Incheon International Airport Corporation announced on the 21st that it participated in the 'International Air Transport Association (IATA) Slot Coordination Meeting' held from the 15th to 18th (local time) at the Melbourne Convention Centre in Australia, and forecasted that the number of slot allocations for Incheon Airport during the 2023 summer season (late March to late October) will exceed the 2019 summer season results before COVID-19.

According to the results of this meeting, the expected number of slot allocations for Incheon Airport in the 2023 summer season is 263,004. This represents a 265% increase compared to the 99,077 slots in the 2022 summer season. Notably, it is a 12.5% increase compared to the 233,650 slots in the 2019 summer season before COVID-19. Incheon International Airport Corporation expects that the 2023 summer season will surpass the previous maximum operation record for the first time in four years since the pandemic.

The Slot Coordination Meeting is an international conference hosted by IATA. About 1,000 participants, including over 200 IATA member and non-member airlines and representatives from more than 60 airports, gather twice a year to discuss the availability of slots for the upcoming season’s aircraft operations. It is a large-scale international event in the aviation industry.

At this slot coordination meeting, the corporation negotiated schedule allocations with 64 passenger airlines including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Qantas Airways, and Lufthansa, as well as 11 cargo airlines such as Atlas Air and DHL Air UK, to realize the demand for resuming and increasing flights in the 2023 summer season.

Kim Kyung-wook, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, said, “As a result of participating in this slot conference, we have confirmed that many airlines wish to resume and newly commence flights at Incheon Airport.” He added, “Considering that slots are a very important resource for the airport, we will continue to allocate slots fairly and transparently, thoroughly preparing for external variables such as the merger of the two major Korean carriers, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, and the entry of new airlines.”

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