T'way will be first international carrier to return to Wuhan

T’way Air aircraft. The budget carrier starts flying its Incheon-Wuhan route on Wednesday. [T'WAY AIR]

T'way will be the first international carrier to return to Wuhan when it starts its once-a-week service Wednesday to the central Chinese city.

Wuhan, which is the capital of Hubei and the source of the pandemic, has not had direct air links to the outside world for eight months.

The T'way flight leaves Incheon International Airport at 8:40 a.m. and arrives Wuhan Tianhe International Airport at 10:50 a.m. It returns at 1:55 p.m., landing at Incheon at 6:00 p.m.

A ticket on the flight costs about 400,000 won ($340).

The airline was unable to confirm whether it is the first non-Chinese carrier to return to the city, but Reuters is reporting that it is, and Wuhan airport has no other international carriers listed on its arrival boards.

Korean Air Lines had been flying the Incheon-Wuhan route four times a week before the outbreak. It halted the service starting on Jan. 23. T’way Air had earlier received permission to fly to Wuhan, but the first flight, scheduled for Jan. 21, had to be cancelled.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, which manages route rights, said that many business travelers are interested in flying between the two cities.

T'way is a Korea Exchange-listed low-cost carrier. Its stock rose 5.16 percent in trading Tuesday.

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]