An aircraft takes off from the runway at Jeju Airport in Jeju, Feb. 4. Yonhap
Jeju Air reclaimed its lead position among Korea's low-cost carriers (LCCs) last month, government data showed Wednesday, following a temporary decline in passengers due to a fatal crash that claimed the lives of 179 passengers in December.
According to the data from the transport ministry, Jeju Air recouped its position as the leading LCC in terms of the number of passengers with 879,000, followed by Jin Air and T'way Air, at 863,000 and 838,000, respectively.
In January, Jeju Air had fallen to third place following the Dec. 29 crash at Muan International Airport. The airline reclaimed the lead despite having reduced the number of flights to enhance its operational safety.
Air Busan, which also suffered a fire-related incident in late January, meanwhile, saw a significant decline in passenger numbers, according to the data.
The airline carried 494,000 passengers in February, down 26.3 percent from the previous month. Domestic travel passengers plunged 52.8 percent to 122,000, while international passengers fell 9.6 percent to 371,000.
"Despite Jeju Air having reduced the number of domestic and international flights, it appears that passenger numbers have rebounded as customer concerns were largely alleviated," an aviation industry observer said. (Yonhap)
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