As fear of the coronavirus eases, Korea is expected to see greater numbers of people traveling overseas, with the figure estimated to surpass 10 million in the second quarter. In the January-to-March period, 9 million Koreans traveled overseas, a 62 percent increase from the same period in 2019 before the pandemic, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Safety.
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Posted : 2020-12-17 09:48
Updated : 2020-12-17 18:34
Korean Air and Asiana Airlines planes at Incheon International Airport amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, Dec. 8. / Korea Times file
By Kim Jae-heun
The local airline industry has been experiencing an unprecedented crisis following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic this year as countries around the world have put in place travel restrictions leading to the cancelation of many international flights.
As the coronavirus situation continues, airline companies have started to come up with survival measures, first offering paid and unpaid leave to staff then carrying out restructuring. Airlines also expanded their domestic flights.
As a result, the number of passengers on domestic routes operated by eight local airways increased to 5.87 million last month, up 2.5 percent from 5.73 million a year ago, according to Air Portal, an aviation data provider run by the Korea Civil Aviation Association.