Korea Airports Corporation Holds Ceremony to Commemorate Resumption of Gimhae-Fukuoka Route

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Korea Airports Corporation announced on the 31st that it held a ceremony to resume operations on the Gimhae~Fukuoka route at Gimhae International Airport.

The event was attended by Korea Airports Corporation, the Consulate-General of Japan in Busan, Air Busan, Busan Metropolitan City, Korea Tourism Organization, Busan Tourism Organization, and Gimhae Airport immigration-related agencies to send off the first departing passengers using the Fukuoka route and celebrate the resumption of flights with the passengers.

President Yoon Hyung-jung said in his commemorative speech, "The resumption of the Gimhae~Fukuoka route signals the beginning of improved Korea-Japan relations and revitalization of human exchange following the inauguration of the new government," adding, "We will continue to strengthen strategic cooperation with the aviation and tourism industries to enhance the convenience of air travel for local residents by opening major medium- and long-distance routes to key countries besides other Japan routes."

The Gimhae~Fukuoka route is the geographically closest route between Korea and Japan, with a flight time of about 30 minutes, and was a representative popular route used by 770,000 passengers annually before COVID-19 (2019). Operations were suspended in March 2020 and have now resumed after about two years and three months. Air Busan will operate once a week every Tuesday.

Before COVID-19, Gimhae Airport connected 13 major Japanese cities including Osaka, Narita, and Sapporo, serving about 3 million passengers annually as a major airport for Korea-Japan exchange. The resumption of flights to Fukuoka is expected to be a catalyst leading to the reopening of major Japanese routes such as Tokyo and Osaka, along with the allowance of group tourist entries from Japan starting next month on the 10th.

Following the commemorative event, the ‘Busan Aviation and Tourism Industry Cooperation Meeting’ for the normalization of Korea-Japan air routes was held, where both countries shared trends in quarantine policies. Discussions were held on the normalization of international flights, measures to revitalize inbound tourism for regional economic activation, and simplification of Gimhae Airport immigration procedures.