200 Passengers per Hour? ... Air Busan Recovers Number of Overseas Travelers During Holiday Period

During this year's Chuseok holiday period, the number of travelers departing overseas from Gimhae International Airport using Air Busan flights exceeded pre-COVID-19 levels.

Air Busan announced on the 6th that approximately 21,000 travelers departed from Gimhae International Airport using Air Busan flights during this year's Chuseok holiday period, surpassing the roughly 13,000 travelers who departed during the 2019 Chuseok holiday period before COVID-19.

According to Air Busan, an average of about 3,500 people per day used Air Busan flights to depart from Busan during the six days of this year's Chuseok holiday, which means that based on Gimhae International Airport's 17-hour daily operation, approximately 200 people per hour crowded onto Air Busan flights every day.

During the 2019 Chuseok holiday period before COVID-19, the daily average was about 3,200 people (approximately 190 people per hour).

Air Busan explained that even considering that this year's Chuseok holiday period was two days longer than in 2019, the number still exceeded that period.

The difference is even more striking compared to last year's Chuseok holiday period. During last year's Chuseok holiday, an average of 380 people per day used Air Busan to depart overseas. Although the holiday period was not as long as this year’s, overall travel sentiment had not yet recovered.

During this year's Chuseok holiday period, Air Busan operated a total of 181 flights (one-way basis) on 27 international routes, including both scheduled and charter flights, with 112 flights departing from Busan and 69 from Incheon.

During last year's Chuseok holiday period, Air Busan operated a total of 25 flights (one-way basis) on 16 international routes, with 10 flights departing from Busan and 15 from Incheon.

An Air Busan official explained, "It appears to be a phenomenon where the pent-up desire for overseas travel, suppressed during the COVID-19 pandemic, exploded due to the environmental conditions created by the long holiday."

He added, "Air Busan did its best to ensure safe and comfortable travel for passengers during the holiday period, and we feel proud to be able to repay the trust of passengers who chose Air Busan."

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