Flights from domestic airports to China and Eastern Europe could increase as early as this year, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said on the 24th.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport convened the Air Traffic Deliberation Committee that day and allocated traffic rights for 35 international routes to 11 Korean airlines. When the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) allocates traffic rights to domestic airlines each year, airlines use them to determine flight schedules as early as within the year.
According to the route allocation results, flights from Incheon Airport to major Chinese cities such as Chongqing and Shenzhen will increase. Routes will also be newly launched to cities such as Ningbo and Wuxi, where many domestic corporations have expanded. The move reflects that passenger traffic between Korea and China in the first quarter was about 4.39 million, up 25% from a year earlier.
In addition, flights from regional airports to China will also increase. Nonstop routes to major cities other than Beijing and Shanghai will be added. At Busan Airport, routes to Guangzhou (4 times a week), Hangzhou (4 times a week), Xiamen (3 times a week), and Guilin (4 times a week) will be added; at Cheongju Airport, routes to Beijing (4 times a week), Hangzhou (3 times a week), Chengdu (3 times a week), Xiamen (2 times a week), and Huangshan (2 times a week) will be added. At Daegu Airport, a Shanghai route (7 times a week) will be launched, and international services at Yangyang Airport, which had been suspended, will resume through traffic rights for Shanghai (3 times a week).
Eastern Europe routes will also be expanded. Hungary flights had been capped at six times a week since 2014, but this time additional traffic rights were allocated to Asiana Airlines for three weekly flights and to T'way Air for five weekly flights. The Austria route, which had been limited to four times a week for 30 years, will also be expanded, allowing Korean Air Lines to operate three additional weekly flights.
New and increased services are also being pursued for Manado, Indonesia; Tashkent, Uzbekistan; New Zealand; and Kathmandu, Nepal.