[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] As the air routes between Korea and China reopen, national airlines are preparing to resume flights to China.
According to the aviation industry on the 12th, the aviation authorities of Korea and China have agreed to expand the current 10 weekly flights to up to 20 weekly flights, considering urgent business demand, local Korean residents, and student demand.
So far, national airlines' China routes have been limited to three: Incheon~Shenyang (Korean Air), Incheon~Changchun (Asiana Airlines), and Incheon~Weihai (Jeju Air). This is due to China's 'one airline, one route' policy implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
However, with this new measure, national airlines are preparing to resume additional flights. First, Asiana Airlines resumed its Incheon~Nanjing route starting today. Additionally, Korean Air has applied for permission to operate the Incheon~Guangzhou route, Jin Air for Jeju~Xi'an, and Air Busan for Incheon~{$_... routes. Other airlines such as Jeju Air and T'way Air are also reportedly considering resuming three more routes.
National airlines are also focusing on resuming other international routes besides China. T'way Air will resume two routes, Incheon~Ho Chi Minh and Incheon~Hong Kong, starting on the 22nd, and Jin Air has already resumed five routes. Major full-service carriers (FSCs) are cautiously expanding routes as lockdown measures ease in Europe and other regions.
An industry official said, "It is still difficult to expect a recovery in travel demand for China routes, but the load factor is decent based on current business demand alone," adding, "If the air route restrictions currently under discussion for Japan, Europe, and other regions are eased, the resumption of flights will accelerate."
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