Combined investment made by the South Korean aviation industry to ensure safe air travel rose 38 percent on-year in 2023 to reach over 5.8 trillion won (US$4.18 billion), government data showed Thursday. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the combined spending on air travel safety by 18 domestic air travel operators and airport operators amounted to 5.84 trillion won last year, up from 4.23 trillion won in 2022. Among international transport operators, spending by large carriers and low-cost carriers reached 4.36 trillion won and 1.21 trillion won, respectively. By individual airline, industry leader Korean Air Co. spent 2.8 trillion won and Asiana Airlines Inc. invested 1.57 trillion won, up 51.6 percent and 35.7 percent, respectively, compared with the previous year. Among low-cost carriers, Jeju Air spent 494 billion won, followed by T'way Air, Air Busan and Jin Air, with 251 billion won, 229 billion won and 112 billion won, respectively. For airport operators, Korea Airp orts Corp. spent 89.5 billion won last year for safety, up 20.7 percent from 2022, while investment by Incheon International Airport Corp. fell 3.1 percent to 169 billion won, the ministry said. Source: Yonhap News Agency