Korean Air and Asiana Cancel Chuseok Hawaii Flights Due to Delta Variant Spread

As Korean Air's acquisition of Asiana Airlines is underway, on the 17th, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines passenger planes are parked behind the construction site of the 4th runway at Incheon International Airport. 2020. 11. 17

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Korean Air and Asiana Airlines have canceled irregular flights on the Incheon~Hawaii route during the Chuseok holiday (September 18-22) due to the spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant. With the strengthening of social distancing measures amid the global resurgence of COVID-19, concerns are rising in the domestic aviation industry, which is preparing to resume international flights in the second half of this year.

According to the industry on the 13th, following Asiana Airlines' cancellation of irregular flights to Hawaii during the Chuseok holiday last week, Korean Air also officially notified travel agencies that had made reservations on the 10th of the flight cancellations. Korean Air had planned to operate the Incheon~Hawaii route once daily on the 17th and 20th during the Chuseok holiday, and Asiana Airlines had planned two flights on the 18th and 21st.

This schedule was based on requests from major domestic travel agencies such as Hanatour, Modetour, and Interpark Tour last month, anticipating increased passenger demand on the route during Chuseok and requesting chartered irregular flights from the airlines. An industry insider explained, "As daily COVID-19 cases exceeded 2,000 earlier this month, customers began inquiring about cancellations, leading us to request the airlines to cancel flights first."

According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Aviation Information Portal, the total number of domestic and international passengers up to the 12th of this month was 1,178,984, marking the lowest level in five months since the same period in March.

With the resurgence of COVID-19, the aviation industry preparing to resume international flights in the second half of this year is deeply concerned about the slowdown in passenger demand.

Korean Air aims to operate the Incheon~Hawaii regular route three times a week (Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) starting in November. To this end, it plans to apply for route operation approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in October and expand the frequency to five days a week in December. However, Korean Air has decided to respond flexibly to its flight plans considering the future COVID-19 situation. Jeju Air also planned to resume operations on the Incheon~Guam route this month, but discussions have been delayed due to growing uncertainty about demand.

The travel bubble to Saipan, which began last month, saw the Northern Mariana Islands government decide on the 2nd of this month to conduct PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests for vaccinated travelers upon arrival. An aviation industry official said, "We expected international passenger demand to increase from the second half of this year due to the resurgence of COVID-19, but there are concerns that even this momentum may be dampened."