[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Air Busan has resumed flights on the Japan Sapporo route, a representative winter travel destination, after about 2 years and 9 months. Sapporo is the capital of Hokkaido, the island featured in the movie "Love Letter," and is a tourist city known for heavy snowfall in winter. Golf, skiing, and hot spring trips in Hokkaido mainly use Sapporo Airport as a gateway.
Air Busan resumed operations on the Busan-Sapporo route starting with flight BX182 from Busan to Sapporo on the morning of the 30th of last month. Flights from Gimhae Airport to Sapporo had been suspended since March 2020 due to COVID-19.
The flight on that day had 162 passengers, recording a load factor of 83%.
An Air Busan official said, "Although flights were suspended for a long time, the solid load factor seems to reflect the full-scale resumption of travel to Japan and the anticipation for trips to Sapporo."
Air Busan first launched the Busan-Sapporo route in December 2015 with a schedule of three flights per week and gradually increased the number of flights to operate one round trip daily.
The Sapporo route has established itself as a popular overseas winter travel destination, recording over 10,000 passengers per month on average during the winter season every year.
Air Busan has been continuously expanding its Japan routes since the end of October in response to the Japanese government's visa-free entry allowance and the increase in travelers due to the weak yen.
Currently, the Busan-Fukuoka route operates three times daily, and from the 8th, the number of flights will increase to four round trips daily. Additionally, from the 9th, the Busan-Narita route will resume operations with one round trip daily.
Japan routes departing from Incheon have also increased flights since the end of October, with Incheon-Osaka and Narita routes operating twice daily each, and the Incheon-Fukuoka route operating once daily.
An Air Busan official said, "To diversify overseas travel options for local residents, we have resumed the Sapporo route for the first time from Gimhae Airport," adding, "We will solidify our position as a strong player in Japan routes through continuous recovery of Japan flights."
Air Busan's Busan-Sapporo route departs from Gimhae International Airport at 8:35 AM and arrives at Sapporo Chitose Airport at 11:00 AM. The return flight departs from the local airport at 11:55 AM and arrives at Gimhae Airport at 2:40 PM.
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