Gimpo Airport Recovers 60% of International Flights Compared to Pre-COVID Levels

The number of international passengers at Gimpo Airport in the first half of this year has recovered to 60% of the pre-COVID-19 pandemic level.

As the value of the Japanese yen has fallen to an all-time low, the number of tourists visiting Japan is increasing. On the 16th, travelers at Seoul Gimpo International Airport were waiting to check their luggage. Photo by Jin-Hyung Kang aymsdream@

Korea Airports Corporation announced on the 13th that from January to June this year, the number of international passengers at 14 airports nationwide, excluding Incheon International Airport, reached 5,240,626, which is 49.6% of the level during the same period in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The corporation analyzed that this was thanks to the remarkable recovery of Southeast Asian and Japanese routes. Southeast Asian routes including Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines recovered to 71.6%, while Japanese routes recovered to 60.2%. The Taiwan route showed a recovery rate of 54.8%. However, the China route remained at only 15.4%.

Looking at major airports, the number of international passengers at Gimpo Airport reached 59.6% compared to the same period in 2019. Gimhae Airport followed with 56.6%. On the other hand, the recovery rates of international passengers at smaller international airports such as Cheongju Airport and Muan Airport were only 32.6% and 23.3%, respectively.

The number of domestic passengers at the 14 airports nationwide in the first half of this year exceeded the pre-COVID-19 level, reaching 33,047,627. This corresponds to 102.7% compared to the same period in 2019.

The corporation expects that although it has been running deficits since 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19, sales will increase as air travel demand gradually recovers. It is anticipated that a return to profitability will be possible in 2024.

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