Jeju Air Co. said Thursday it will open routes from Incheon to Oita and Hiroshima to absorb rapidly recovering air travel demand amid a nationwide move to return to pre-pandemic normalcy.

South Korea's biggest low-cost carrier will start services on the Incheon-Oita route on June 22 and the Incheon-Hiroshima route on July 13, the company said in a statement.

In the January-March period, Jeju Air shifted to a net profit of 48.19 billion won ($36 million) from a net loss of 64.91 billion won a year earlier on increased flights to Southeast Asian countries.

The budget carrier also swung to a record quarterly high operating profit of 70.73 billion won in the first quarter from an operating loss of 77.87 billion won a year ago.

Sales more than quintupled to another record quarterly high of 422.29 billion won from 80.79 billion won during the same period.

Jeju Air operated the same fleet of 37 B787-800 aircraft in the first quarter, down from 40 B787-800s a year earlier.

This year, it aims to turn around after posting net losses for four consecutive years through 2022. (Yonhap)