Korea: Air passengers rise 24% on-year in May amid return to pre-pandemic normalcy

The number of flight passengers using Korean flag air carriers rose nearly 24% in May from a year earlier amid a nationwide move to return to pre-pandemic normalcy, government data showed Tuesday. Korean airlines carried a total of 9.32m people on international and domestic routes last month, up 23.8% from 7.54m tallied a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. International passengers soared more than sixfold to 3.6m in May from the previous year's 556,000, while air passengers on domestic routes declined 18% on-year to 5.73m from 6.98m over the cited period. The monthly figure also accounted for 85.8% of 10.88m tallied in May 2019, before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sharp on-year increase came as local air carriers have resumed international flights to meet pent-up travel demand in the midst of lifted COVID-19 restrictions.<br/>