Asiana Increases Flights to Japan to 10 Times a Week

Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Asiana Airlines announced on the 27th that it will increase the number of flights on major routes starting from the 30th of next month, in line with Japan's lifting of visa-free travel and entry restrictions.

The Tokyo Narita route will increase from 10 to 12 flights per week, and Osaka from 7 to 10 flights per week. Fukuoka will increase from 3 to 7 flights per week, and Nagoya from 2 to 3 flights per week. The company also stated that it plans to increase flights on the Gimpo~Haneda route, which currently has a load factor of about 98%.

Asiana Airlines operated a total of 143 weekly flights to Japan as of summer 2019. Due to COVID-19 and the abolition of the visa-free travel agreement, it currently operates 29 flights per week. Starting with this increase, the airline plans to restore flight operations on Japan routes to about 40% of pre-COVID-19 levels by the end of the year.

Asiana Airlines said, "We expect demand to increase significantly due to Japan's easing of entry measures and the weak yen," adding, "We will closely analyze demand and consider the timing for resuming flights on tourist routes such as Sapporo and Miyazaki."

When entering Japan, a PCR negative certificate obtained within 72 hours before departure, prior completion of an electronic questionnaire, a smartphone, and a specific application are required.