South Korea: Airline, travel industries on edge over COVID-19 resurgence

The resurgence of COVID-19 is putting airlines and travel industries on their toes as infection rates have been rising fast over the past week, according to industry officials Tuesday. Air carriers and travel agencies are worried that the situation could get worse and have a dire impact on their business operations, they said. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Tuesday, there were 37,360 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of midnight, Tuesday, the highest in 62 days. The airline industry is expected to be hit the hardest if the COVID-19 resurgence intensifies. Although the number of confirmed cases in Korea is increasing rapidly, it is reported that so far there are not many inquiries for flight cancellations. The airline industry believes that the possibility of a full lockdown due to the COVID-19 resurgence is low, as many countries around the world have eased quarantine measures, such as the abolition of the mandatory submission of negative PCR tests upon arrival. Aside from the quarantine situation, airlines are concerned that travel sentiment may shrink, which could dampen travel demand. Travel demand has exploded after the easing of quarantine measures, and the number of monthly international passengers exceeded 1 million for the first time since the COVID-19 crisis began.<br/>