Incheon airport passenger traffic doubles in three months

Airline demand is rapidly recovering, with a doubling of the number of passengers utilizing Korea's main gateway over the past three months.

The destination "Haneda" is displayed on the departure flight information monitor at the departure hall of Gimpo International Airport, in Gangseo District, Seoul, on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Airline demand is rapidly recovering, with a doubling of the number of passengers utilizing Korea's main gateway over the past three months.

Incheon International Airport is expected to have more than 50,000 travelers a day by the beginning of July. As demand recovers, various services that were halted during the pandemic, such as providing in-flight blankets, are expected to resume.

According to Incheon International Airport, the number of passengers using the airport on June 25 was 49,642, with 23,942 departing and 25,700 arriving. This is the most since April 2020, when passenger demand began to drop sharply due to the pandemic.

The number of travelers using Incheon International Airport has been on the rise since June 8, when the requirement for incoming-passenger quarantine ended. The total was about 20,000 to 30,000 a day in April and May, but in June, about 41,000 people a day were using the airport.

The number of travelers using Incheon International Airport is expected to exceed 50,000 in early July.

"As international flight restrictions are lifted, airport demand is increasing," said an official from Incheon International Airport.

Passenger use at Gimpo International Airport, operated by Korea Airports Corporation, is also rapidly recovering. The Gimpo-Haneda route resumed from Wednesday, the convenient and popular service being offered for the first time in two years and three months.

Asiana Airlines 9102 left at 8:31 on Wednesday morning and Korean Air Lines flight 707 departed 8:48, the aircraft returning to Gimpo International Airport Wednesday afternoon with about 50 passengers on board. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways plan to offer twice-a-week Haneda-Gimpo service.

Local airlines including Korean Air Lines are adding more international flights. Following the resumption of the Gimpo-Haneda route, Korean Air Lines plans to operate a Gimpo-Osaka service. European frequencies, including on the Paris and Frankfurt routes, will also be increased.

Three out of 10 passenger planes that were used as cargo planes by removing seats will be returned to passenger service.

In-flight blankets, which were not provided during the pandemic, will be provided again.

"We plan to restore the number of seats available on international flights to 50 percent of what it was before the Covid-19 crisis by September," said an official from Korean Air Lines.

Some Korean Air Lines employees say that in-flight services cannot be fully resumed unless it recruits more cabin crew, with headcount reduced due to the pandemic.

"The company started to reduce on-site manpower even before the pandemic, but they are not replenishing labor despite the surge in passenger demand," said one Korean Air Lines cabin attendant. "There is not enough people to respond to passenger inquiries, let alone serve all the food and drink."

"The number of flight crew was increased from 1,600 in January this year to 2,500 in June," said an official from Korean Air Lines. "From January to May this year, the average flight time for cabin crew was 58 hours a month, which is half of the 120 hour ceiling allowed by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport."

BY KANG KI-HEON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]