Direct Flights to Mongolia Also from Cheongju, Daegu, and Muan... LCC Operates Three Times a Week

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Allocates Traffic Rights for 12 International Air Routes
Daegu, Muan, Cheongju~Ulaanbaatar LCCs Make First Flights

It has become possible to travel to Mongolia using low-cost carriers (LCCs) from regional airports such as Daegu, Muan, and Cheongju.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 19th that it allocated traffic rights for 12 international air routes to 7 domestic airlines at the Air Traffic Deliberation Committee held on the afternoon of the 18th.

Traffic rights are operating rights allocated by each country's government to its airlines, with the scale determined based on agreements in intergovernmental aviation talks. The allocation decision is based on applications from airlines. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, traffic rights were first allocated last April with the aim of restoring the public's routine overseas travel.

This time, the Ministry newly allocated traffic rights for flights from Cheongju, Muan, and Daegu to Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) to LCCs. Aero K Airlines (Cheongju), Jin Air (Muan), and T'way Air (Daegu) will each operate three flights per week. Jeju Air (three times a week) was added to the Busan~Ulaanbaatar route previously operated by Air Busan to create a competitive environment. Additional traffic rights were also allocated to the existing Incheon~Ulaanbaatar route. During the off-season, Jeju Air operates three flights per week, and during the peak season, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air, and T'way Air each operate one flight per week.

In addition, Jin Air received traffic rights for Muan~Shanghai (China) six times a week, and Aero K Airlines received traffic rights for Cheongju~Manila (Philippines) with 540 seats per week. The Korea~Russia route was assigned to Aero K Airlines (three times a week). Through this, the Ministry expects to improve international flight accessibility for local residents and contribute to strengthening competitiveness by diversifying LCC routes.

Regarding cargo traffic rights, allocations were made as follows: Korea~Singapore two-way 5 freedoms (Korean Air three units per week, Air Incheon one unit per week), Korea~Philippines (Air Incheon 100 tons per week), Korea~Palau (Air Incheon four times per week), and Korea~Milan, Rome, and two selected points (Korean Air three times per week).

Kim Young-guk, Director of Aviation Policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, "We expect this traffic rights allocation to add momentum to the recently recovering international flight operations. We will encourage airlines to commence flights on these routes early and continue to expand international flight supply through aviation talks to enhance convenience for air passengers."