Jeju Air B737-800 / Courtesy of Jeju Air

By Kim Hyun-bin

The number of passengers on low-cost carriers (LCC) nearly doubled in May from the previous month, but is still small, accounting for only 3 percent of sales compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic.

For a quick recovery of business, LCCs are calling on the government to take proactive measures to tackle problems such as expensive air tickets and excessive quarantine regulations compared to other countries, as these stand in the way of increasing overseas travel demand.

The airline industry believes that the government will need to significantly increase international flight licenses to counter skyrocketing ticket prices.

The number of international passengers in May reached 942,147, up 45 percent from April, according to data released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Friday.

The number of international passengers on Jeju Air, T'way Air, Jin Air, Air Seoul and Air Busan increased 86 percent from 32,648 in April to 60,717 in May. Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, the major airlines, meanwhile, saw a 36 percent increase to 288,194 and 212,224, respectively.

The resumption of flights to Southeast Asian countries and Guam, which are the most popular routes for LCCs, contributed to the rise in accordance with the government's recovery policy for international flights.

The number of international passengers at LCCs is expected to increase further in June. This is because the government has opened more regular flights from May including to Singapore and Boracay.

But LCCs have a long way to go. In May 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of international passengers at LCCs stood at around 2.2 million. The current figures only account for 3 percent of the pre-COVID-19 level.

The international passenger business of airlines has virtually stopped for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Large airlines showed record-high performance by focusing on cargo transportation, converting passenger planes to cargo planes in consideration of global logistics difficulties.

"Passenger numbers were very low in April, so they seem to have increased significantly in May. Passenger demand will be able to recover more quickly if restrictions on entry are lifted," an LCC official said.