Crisis in the Aviation Industry: "Exempt PCR Testing Upon Entry" Requested

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] The aviation industry, which has been suffering from deteriorating performance due to COVID-19, is appealing to the government to ease PCR policies to restore air travel demand.

According to the aviation industry on the 1st, the individual and separate sales of listed LCCs such as Jin Air, Jeju Air, T'way Air, and Air Busan amounted to 908.9 billion KRW last year, a 17.75% decrease compared to 1.105 trillion KRW the previous year. Operating profits continued to show losses.

The companies with sharp sales declines were Jeju Air and T'way Air. Jeju Air recorded sales of 270.8 billion KRW last year, down 27.59% from the previous year, and T'way Air recorded 214.4 billion KRW, down 20.36%. Jin Air and Air Busan saw decreases of 9.94% and 7.09%, with sales of 247.2 billion KRW and 176.5 billion KRW, respectively. The losses slightly decreased. The operating losses of the four companies last year totaled 823.1 billion KRW, compared to 848.7 billion KRW the previous year. Jeju Air posted a loss of 314.5 billion KRW, followed by T'way Air (-214.4 billion KRW), Jin Air (-185.2 billion KRW), and Air Busan (-175.2 billion KRW).

Domestic air passengers last year numbered 36.36 million, a decrease of over 70% compared to 123.37 million in 2019 before COVID-19 entered Korea. It was 7.7% lower than 39.4 million the previous year. Among them, international passengers were 3.21 million, a sharp drop of 77.5% compared to 14.24 million in 2020 and 96% compared to 2019. On the other hand, domestic passengers recorded 33.15 million last year, an increase of 31.7% compared to the previous year.

The government exempted quarantine for overseas arrivals who have completed vaccination from the 7-day quarantine starting from the 21st of last month. However, the industry emphasizes that PCR test exemption upon entry is necessary for the recovery of air travel demand. The Korean Air labor union issued a statement yesterday, saying, "For workers to return to their positions, the recovery of passenger demand is essential," and pointed out that "the stagnant quarantine policy is holding back the recovery of passenger demand."

The union explained, "A negative PCR test certificate is still required when entering Korea from overseas," adding, "Although quarantine exemption has been granted for vaccinated individuals, unvaccinated people such as children must quarantine after entry." They questioned, "Do we require PCR tests for people boarding buses or subways?" and emphasized, "Effectively, the PCR test upon entry has become meaningless, and exempting it is necessary for the survival of the aviation industry and workers."

They particularly stressed the need for PCR test exemption as many countries overseas, including the United States and Europe, allow quarantine-free entry for foreigners. The union said, "The government must lower the threshold of quarantine policies and implement bold and swift measures to normalize air travel demand even now," urging the government to directly respond to the workers' appeals.