Passenger, airline, and policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis: The case of South Korea

Abstract

In recent years, domestic and international air passenger markets have expanded steadily around the world with the rapid growth of low cost carriers and aggressive route expansion; however, the unprecedented crisis caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in greatly decreased air travel and an uncertain future for the aviation industry. The present study examined South Korean passengers, airlines, and government policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it suggests policy directions for the pandemic and post-pandemic periods. Air passengers respond to internal and external factors, and their demand for travel will increase with the reduction in global COVID cases and vaccine distribution. South Korean airlines have used various means to overcome decreased passenger numbers, such as domestic route transitions, freight transportation expansion, and mergers and acquisitions; Korean Air recorded a profit through its foray into cargo transport in 2020. The Korean government is trying to curb the spread of COVID-19 and help the industry to recover by establishing an airport quarantine system at Incheon international airport. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it is necessary to continuously monitor the responses of passengers, industry, and governments and to share relevant information.

Airport terminal passenger forecast under the impact of COVID-19 outbreaks: A case study from China

“…Additionally, late outbreaks had higher recovery rates than the first outbreaks and required fewer days to return to preoutbreak levels. Similar findings were reported in Korea, where the recovery rate of domestic air passenger traffic after the second outbreak was higher than that after the first outbreak [ 51 ]. In addition, we observed a forward shift in the beginning of the recovery stages of later outbreaks compared to early outbreaks.…”

“…The policy and regulations imposed by governments for pandemic control are a crucial factor that influence air travel demands patterns amid the pandemic [ 32 , 51 ]. Most countries around the world have implemented various restrictions on domestic and international travel to contain the spread of the virus [ 52 ], among which China has one of the most stringent policies in force.…”

International Travel-Related Control Measures to contain The Covid-19 Pandemic: An update to a Cochrane Rapid Review

“…The study does not assess the impact of an air travel-related control measure Hossain 2020 (39) The study does not assess the impact of an air travel-related control measure Hu 2021 (40) The study does not assess the impact of an air travel-related control measure Kamata 2021 (41) The study does not measure the specified interventions Kim 2021 (42) The study does not measure the specified interventions Kong 2021 (43) The study does not provide a specific effect measure for the air travel-related control measure Korzeniewski 2020 (44) The study does not provide a specific effect measure for an air travel-related control measure Kwok 2021 (45) The study does not include air travellers Lai 2021 (46) The study does not measure the specified interventions Liu 2021 (47) The study does not assess the impact of an air travel-related control measure Medby 2021 (48) The study did not incorporate the specified study design Meng 2021 (49) The study does not measure the specified interventions Movsisyan 2021 (50) The study does not provide a specific effect measure for an air travel-related control measure Murall 2021 (51) The study does not include air travellers…”

Air China’s Customer Relationship Management a Case Study in China’s Airline Industry

“…To some extent, Air China was able to minimise its customer losses during the pandemic. However, it is difficult to estimate how long it will take for the aviation industry to fully recover due to a lack of knowledge of how long the virus has been circulating [10] and the inability to determine attitudes towards air travel post-pandemic.…”