hankyoreh

A schedule of flights to and from Japan at Incheon International Airport in October 2019. (Hankyoreh archives)

As South Korea and Japan prepare to exempt businessmen from the mandatory two-week quarantine when they cross the border for business, South Korean airlines are planning to increase flights to Japan.

Sources in the aviation industry told the Hankyoreh on Oct. 7 that airlines have started exploring the option of a special travel protocol for business travelers set to take effect on Oct. 8. T’way Air said on Wednesday that it would resume service between Incheon and Osaka and between Incheon and Tokyo (Narita), with one flight per week on both routes, on Nov. 5. Eight months have passed since the airline halted service to Japan because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Currently, South Korea’s major airlines maintain a sparse schedule of flights to Japan, mostly in Tokyo and Osaka. Korean Air operates seven flights a week between Incheon and Narita and one flight between Incheon and Osaka, while Asiana Airlines has seven flights between Incheon and Narita and three between Incheon and Osaka.

According to statistics accessed at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s aviation information portal, air traffic to Japan plunged from 7,250 flights and 840,969 passengers (including arrivals and transfers) in February to 1,705 flights and 76,670 passengers in March and then to 422 flights and 8,815 passengers in April.

That was the result of restrictions that the Japanese government imposed on South Korean travelers in an attempt to contain the spread of COVID-19. The latest statistics show that air traffic has stayed at a similar level since then, with 8,850 passengers on 439 flights to Japan in August.

Given the huge number of international flights to Japan prior to the pandemic, the special travel protocol has kindled the hopes of the aviation sector. “We think that South Korea and Japan’s adoption of the special travel protocol will further promote exchange between business travelers in the two countries. We’re also planning to resume service to Nagoya and Fukuoka,” said a source with T’way Air.

“We don’t have any concrete expansion plans yet, but we do expect that demand will recover. As soon as that happens, we can respond quickly given our proximity and the lack of restrictions on traffic rights in Japan,” said a source with Korean Air.

By Park Su-ji, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]