Travelers returning to the mainland and tourists crowd Jeju International Airport on the last day of the chuseok holiday, which also fell on Hangul Day, last Oct. 9. [Yonhap]
Travelers returning to the mainland and tourists crowd Jeju International Airport on the last day of the chuseok holiday, which also fell on Hangul Day, last Oct. 9. [Yonhap]

Jeju Island is considering a seat quota system that would reserve a portion of airline seats on Jeju routes for island residents, as a shortage of available flights has made it increasingly difficult for locals to travel during peak seasons and on weekends.

According to the Jeju provincial government and News1, the province held the first meeting of its "Jeju Air Seat Supply Stabilization Task Force" on Thursday to review seat supply on Jeju routes and discuss measures to secure residents' right to travel.

The meeting focused particularly on the proposed resident seat quota system.

Under the plan, the provincial government would pre-purchase a set number of seats on Jeju routes and sell them directly to residents, ensuring locals retain a minimum level of travel access even during peak periods and on weekends.

The province plans to examine budget requirements and cooperation arrangements with airlines, with the aim of launching a pilot project as early as next year.

The meeting also discussed a priority waitlist system that would give Jeju residents first access to standby spots when flights are fully booked.

However, the priority waitlist system is expected to take more time to implement. Concerns were raised about fairness toward travelers from other regions and the need to modify airline reservation systems.

The province is also pursuing measures to increase the overall supply of seats on Jeju routes. It plans to review key issues in sequence through the end of the year, including airport capacity, the outlook for seat supply under the winter schedule beginning Oct. 25, and airfare levels.

The province said it will ask individual airlines to expand capacity on Jeju routes.

According to Korea Airports Corporation and other sources, the total number of domestic departure and arrival seats on Jeju routes from April through July — covering the current summer schedule — stood at 9.41 million, down about 588,000 seats, or 5.9 percent, from roughly 10 million during the same period last year.

The decline has left some residents unable to secure flights to and from the mainland during peak seasons, weekends and public holidays.

The task force is led by Vice Governor Park Cheon-su and includes 21 members drawn from the Jeju provincial government, the Jeju Provincial Council, Korea Airports Corporation, the Jeju Tourism Organization, the Jeju Tourism Association, aviation experts and representatives from eight domestic airlines.


jshan@heraldcorp.com