SOUTH KOREA. In a bid to boost the country’s recovering tourism and aviation sectors, Korean Air will reinstate routes and add more flights to and from Mainland China starting 17 March. The move, which has positive repercussions for Korean travel retailers, follows the two countries agreeing to raise flight volumes to pre-pandemic levels.
The country’s flag carrier will operate 13 flights per week to Mainland China until the end of March, after which it will begin offering 84 weekly flights to its near neighbour. By May, it will further increase the frequency to 99 times per week.
The airline’s weekly flight frequency on its China routes will reach 38% and 43% of 2019 levels in March/April and May/June, respectively.
Korean Air said this will provide “diversified and more convenient schedules” between Incheon and Gimpo Airports and major Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Other routes include Xian, Shenzhen, Yanji and Xiamen.
The airline said it will work to strengthen Incheon International Airport’s role as a hub by expanding transit networks from China.
Besides air travel, South Korea has also restarted sea trip services to Mainland Chinese cities and to the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. According to Incheon Port Authority, it has conducted full-scale preparations ahead of the resumption of passenger transport services between Incheon and various cities in China. This is to ensure a smooth reopening of facilities such as duty free shops, restaurants, currency exchange offices plus customs, immigration and quarantine services.
The increase in flights and resumption of ferry services took place despite the Chinese government’s decision to exclude South Korea from the second batch of approved destinations in its pilot programme for cross-border group tours. China relaunched its outbound group tours with an initial 20 countries and regions on 6 February. ✈
