Learning to issue airline tickets and putting it into practice on a trip: Korea Food for the Hungry International and Korea Airports Corporation support older adults’ digital independence

[Financial News] Older adults who learned how to use smartphones and issue airline tickets took part in hands-on training to use digital technology during an actual air trip.
According to Hope Friends Korea Food for the Hungry International on the 23rd, a two-day, one-night air travel program was held on the 21st and 22nd in Yeosu, Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City, as part of “Senior On Air,” which it runs with Korea Airports Corporation.
“Senior On Air” is an initiative that supports digital skills and healthy aging among older adults living near Gimpo Airport. It is being run from July through November in partnership with welfare organizations in Seoul’s Gangseo and Yangcheon districts, for 60 people aged 65 and older.
Participants learned how to use smartphones, create records using artificial intelligence (AI), and issue airline tickets, and also took part in health-promoting activities. On this trip, they practiced what they had learned in the field and spent time socializing as they traveled together.
The National Information Society Agency’s “2025 Survey on the Digital Divide” found that the level of digital informatization among adults aged 55 and older was 71.8% of that of the general public. Their digital competency level, measured by basic computer and mobile device skills, stood at 56.2% of the general public’s level.
The two organizations will hold a graduation ceremony on November 5 at Korea Airports Corporation’s headquarters. They plan to exhibit travel records that participants created using generative AI based on their air travel experiences and share the program’s educational outcomes.
Park Chan-wook, head of the ESG Sharing Division at Hope Friends Korea Food for the Hungry International, said, “I hope this program has given seniors confidence in their ability to do things for themselves and renewed energy through the new experience of air travel, and helped them build a more self-directed life in their later years.”

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