Korea: Airlines see spike in int'l passenger numbers in Q1 amid border reopenings

Korean air carriers saw the number of international passengers spike sixteenfold in the first quarter from a year earlier, driven by a surge in demand amid border reopenings, government data showed Sunday. The number of passengers that used international flights operated by Korean Air Lines, Asiana Airlines and low-cost carriers came to 9.87m in the January-March period, according to the data by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. That marks a massive increase from the 619,204 logged in Q1 2022. The number of international passengers that used full-service airlines, like Korean Air and Asiana, grew 7.8 times on-year to 4.47m in the first three months of the year, accounting for 45% of total international passengers. The number of those that flew on budget carriers, representing 5.41m, skyrocketed from 52,000 a year ago, outrunning the number for full-service airlines. Recovery in international travel demand boosted the sharp increase in the passenger numbers, as countries began to ease COVID-19-related border restrictions, market watchers said. In particular, Japan, Taiwan and Macao resumed no-visa entry programs for Korean tourists in Q4 of last year, bolstering the demand for Asia-bound flights, the majority of which are dominated by low-cost carriers.<br/>