Many Koreans are planning to travel to Japan during the three-day holiday starting on March 1, a national holiday commemorating the independence movement against Japanese rule, according to the aviation industry on Wednesday.
Low-cost carrier Jeju Air said among the international routes departing from Incheon Airport from March 1 to March 3, the route to Matsuyama, Japan, has the highest reservation rate. As of Wednesday, the reservation rate is in the high 90 percent range.
The overall average reservation rate for Jeju Air's Japan routes reaches into the high 80 percent range.
During the same period, the reservation rate for budget airline T'way Air on routes to Japan is similarly around 85 percent. There is also high demand for travel to regional areas in Japan, with the reservation rate for the Daegu-Osaka route during the holiday period ranking third among all of T'way Air's international routes.
Looking at March 1 alone, the average reservation rate for T'way Air's flights to Japan stands at 94 percent.
Eastar Jet's Incheon-Fukuoka route reservation rate ranks second, following the route for Gimpo International Airport to Songshan in Taiwan. The overall average reservation rate for round-trip flights to Japan is between 90 percent and 95 percent.
Jin Air also reported that its highest international reservation rate is for the route of Incheon to Fukuoka, Japan, and the overall reservation rate for round-trip flights to Japan is in the 80 to 90 percent range.
For Korean Air as well, the reservation rate for major routes to Japan is over 90 percent, and popular routes such as Incheon-Tokyo are at near full capacity.
The top three international routes by reservation rate for Asiana Airlines are Incheon-Sapporo, Incheon-Fukuoka and Gimpo-Osaka, all of which are to Japan. The reservation rates for all these routes exceed 90 percent.
The March 1st Movement of early 1919 was a significant protest by the Korean people, calling for independence from Japan amid its 1910-1945 colonial rule and an end to forced assimilation into Japanese culture. Over 1,000 demonstrations took place in various cities, which were brutally suppressed by Japan, resulting in approximately 7,500 deaths, 16,000 injuries and 46,000 arrests.
