Aviation Industry Anticipates Travel Bubble... Preparing for Travel Demand Recovery

On the 29th, passengers heading to the United States are completing boarding procedures at Terminal 1 departure hall of Incheon International Airport. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Domestic airlines have begun preparations to resume flights on the Guam and Saipan routes, where the possibility of establishing a ‘Travel Bubble’ (travel safe zone) is high.

According to the aviation industry on the 13th, Korean Air started selling tickets for the Incheon-Guam route scheduled to depart in November last month. Asiana Airlines plans to operate the Incheon-Saipan route starting from the 24th of next month. This is 1 year and 4 months since the route was suspended in March last year due to the impact of COVID-19.

Jeju Air, which operated the Incheon-Saipan route on the 8th, is expected to finalize a specific flight schedule soon and start operating once a week. T’way Air will operate routes to Guam and Saipan next month, and Air Busan will operate the Guam route in September. Both airlines are internally coordinating airfare and flight dates.

Air Seoul will operate flights twice a week on the Incheon-Guam route starting August 12. Air Seoul has also applied to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to operate routes to Hong Kong, Japan, and Vietnam.

The Travel Bubble is a system that exempts incoming travelers from quarantine between countries. Although the agreement has not yet been finalized, airlines are planning to resume operations first to proactively secure passengers who will increase after the agreement is signed.

Separately from the Travel Bubble agreement, airlines have anticipated an increase in travel demand to resorts such as Guam and Saipan starting this summer and have been pushing to resume flights since last month.

The governments of Guam and Saipan exempt quarantine for those who have completed vaccination with Pfizer, Moderna, or Janssen vaccines. Our government also exempts quarantine for vaccinated travelers after overseas trips.

However, AstraZeneca vaccine recipients are not exempt from quarantine in Guam and Saipan.