Considering Expansion of Financial Support to Revitalize Yeosu Airport

Following Jeju Air last year, Fly Gangwon recently withdrew, leading to a decrease in passengers at Yeosu Airport. In response, Yeosu City (Mayor Jeong Gi-myeong) has rolled up its sleeves to revitalize the airport.

According to Yeosu City, Yeosu Airport has attracted over one million passengers annually for the past two years, significantly contributing to improving transportation convenience for local residents and visitors to the Gwangyang Bay area, and has grown into a central airport in the southern coastal and southern central region.

[Photo by Yeosu City]

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However, due to the domestic flight demand contraction following the COVID-19 endemic, the number of flights and passengers at Yeosu Airport at the end of March remain at about half compared to last year.

Since 2016, Yeosu City has been supporting the operating losses of airlines serving Yeosu Airport to revitalize the airport. Last month, at the Yeosu-Suncheon-Gwangyang Administrative Cooperation meeting, an agreement was signed with Suncheon and Gwangyang cities and airlines to increase financial support for operating losses from 100 million KRW to 150 million KRW.

Additionally, Yeosu City proposed measures to related agencies to overcome the crisis at Yeosu Airport, including increasing flight routes to Yeosu Airport to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and expanding financial support for airlines to Jeollanam-do Province.

Furthermore, in the second half of the year, plans to expand the scope of financial support for airlines serving Yeosu Airport are also under consideration.

A city official stated, “With various tourism benefits this year, including the Suncheon Bay International Garden Expo, the demand for visits to the Gwangyang Bay area is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels or higher. We will continue to make efforts to revitalize Yeosu Airport so that many people can enjoy the unique benefits of air transportation that cannot be replaced by other means.”

Yeosu = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Choi Cheol-hoon hss79@asiae.co.kr

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