Korean Air and Asiana Airlines Temporarily Suspend Operations on Some Korea-China Routes

Gimpo~Beijing Flights Suspended Until October 28
"In Response to Decreased Passenger Demand"

With the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent deterioration in Korea-China relations, passenger demand on air routes between the two countries has not recovered, leading major domestic airlines to temporarily suspend operations on some routes.

According to the aviation industry on the 24th, Korean Air will suspend flights on the Gimpo-Beijing route from August 1 until October 28, when this year's summer schedule ends. The Incheon-Xiamen route will also be temporarily suspended from August 9 to October 28.

Asiana Airlines will suspend the Gimpo-Beijing route from the 6th of next month and the Incheon-Shenzhen route from the 8th. The Incheon-Xi'an route has already been suspended since the 20th. Asiana Airlines will also halt operations on these routes until October 28.

The airlines explained that this decision was made because passenger demand has not increased significantly even after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Earlier this year, China allowed group overseas travel for its citizens to 60 countries, but group tours to Korea are still prohibited.

Demand for travel to China by Koreans also remains below pre-COVID-19 levels. According to aviation statistics from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of passengers on China routes from January to May this year was 1,206,374, which is only 16.7% of the 7,213,038 passengers during the same period in 2019 before the pandemic. This figure is also far below the number of passengers on Japan routes (6,972,453) during the same period.

However, the two airlines stated that even if some China routes are suspended, the total number of flights will increase or remain the same due to the resumption and increase of other routes. Korean Air plans to resume the Incheon-Changsha and Weihai routes, which were suspended due to COVID-19, on August 19 and September 27, respectively.

The number of Korean Air flights on Korea-China routes is expected to increase from 95 flights per week this month to 124 flights per week next month, and maintain around 114 flights per week in August. Asiana Airlines also plans to maintain a total of 85 flights per week on Korea-China routes from June to August.