Number of int'l flights recovers to 70% of pre-COVID-19 level

As the number of international flight passengers is rapidly rising to pre-pandemic levels, domestic airlines are scrambling to expand international routes and add more airplanes to their fleets. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, Sunday, international flights have recovered to close to 70% of their pre-COVID numbers. The number of passengers on international flights stood at over 4.5m in both January and February, continuing its explosive growth since the second half of last year. The number exceeded 1m for the first time since the outbreak of COVID-19 in June, last year, increasing to 3.08m in October and then exceeding 4m in December. The number of international air passengers is expected to continue surging in the future as the recovery of Chinese routes will pull up the figure. The ministry agreed with the Chinese government to expand flights between Korea and China to the pre-COVID level on March 3. As a result, the number of flights to China, which was 62 per week as of the end of February, will increase to more than 200 from the end of this month. "China and Japan routes are the most profitable routes as the load factor exceeds 95%," an industry official familiar with the matter said. "Usually, a load factor above 70% is considered profitable for the airline."<br/>