Last year, the number of passengers on international flights by domestic airlines decreased by 84.2% compared to the previous year.
84% decrease compared to the previous year for international passengers
Domestic flights increased in November last year
According to the ‘2020 aviation market trend’ released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on the 14th, the number of international passengers last year was 14.24 million, a significant decrease from the previous year (9.39 million). The total number of air passengers for domestic and international flights decreased by 68.1% over the same period to 39.4 million.
International passenger trend by year
Heo Gyeong-min, head of the aviation industry section of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said, “It is the third lowest level since 1997 when the foreign exchange crisis hit.” By major route, Japan saw the largest decline at 88.2%. The next was China (87.8%), Asia (83.4%), Europe (82.2%), and Americas (72.3%). The decline in international passengers was more severe for low-cost airlines (LCC) than large airlines (FSC). Large airlines fell 82.3% year-on-year, while low-cost airlines fell 86.7%. This is because many short-haul routes such as Japan and China, which are mainly operated by low-cost airlines, have been closed.
The number of domestic passengers decreased by 23.7%, which was relatively smaller than that of international flights. In November of last year, it increased by 2.5% from the previous year. It is analyzed because the number of domestic air travelers such as Jeju increased as the overseas travel route was blocked.
Air cargo did not save. In terms of numbers, it was 23.9% less than the previous year, but the figure includes luggage (baggage) left by passengers, and only 0.6% decrease in pure air freight excluding this. In particular, international cargo (excluding baggage) carried by domestic airlines increased by 8.1% compared to the previous year.
Kim Sang-do, head of the aviation policy department of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said, “As it is expected that the aftermath of Corona 19 will continue this year, we will do our best to recover fast demand from the aviation industry along with continuous and systematic support.”
Reporter Kang Gap-saeng [email protected]