"Full-Scale Expansion into the Capital Area" ... Air Busan Launches New Incheon-Japan Routes

Air Busan A321LR aircraft.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Air Busan will make its first move to capture the metropolitan market by launching two new routes from Incheon to Japan at the end of May.

Air Busan will operate the Incheon-Narita (Tokyo) route starting from the 25th and the Incheon-Osaka route from the 27th, adding a total of two new routes to Japan.

The Incheon-Narita (Tokyo) flight departs from Incheon International Airport at 10:00 AM and arrives at Narita International Airport at 12:20 PM.

From the local airport, the flight departs at 2:10 PM and arrives at Incheon Airport at 5:00 PM, operating once a week on Wednesdays.

The Incheon-Osaka flight departs from Incheon International Airport at 9:00 AM and arrives at Kansai International Airport at 10:50 AM.

From the local airport, the flight departs at 12:30 PM and arrives at Incheon Airport at 2:30 PM, operating once a week on Fridays.

Starting with the Incheon-Narita (Tokyo) and Incheon-Osaka routes, Air Busan plans to launch new routes to Incheon-Nha Trang, Incheon-Kota Kinabalu, and Incheon-Guam consecutively, aiming to aggressively target the metropolitan market and make a fresh leap forward.

Air Busan’s move to target the metropolitan area is analyzed as a proactive response to the expected increase in travel demand following the exemption of quarantine measures for overseas arrivals.

Air Busan highlighted the advantages of traveling to Japan as ▲ possible short trips ▲ various sightseeing and food experiences ▲ relatively affordable international airfare prices and short flight distances.

Currently, Japan is not open for tourism due to the suspension of new tourist visa issuance and the ban on visa-free entry.

However, the government recently announced that “to resume tourism exchanges between the two countries, we will consult with Japan on immigration and quarantine-related measures,” raising expectations that the normalization of Korea-Japan tourism will be expedited.

An Air Busan official said, “Starting with the Japan routes, we plan to actively expand international routes departing from Incheon and aggressively target the metropolitan market where demand is high.”