Airlines resume suspended overseas routes, add frequencies

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Airlines resume suspended overseas routes, add frequencies

Published: 20 Mar. 2022, 16:04 Updated: 20 Mar. 2022, 17:00

Passengers wait in line to check in for a flight heading to Narita International Airport at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Airlines are increasing international services as the government eases quarantine rules for incoming passengers.

Korea is dropping the mandatory seven-day quarantine for vaccinated people arriving in Korea starting March 21. A passenger is qualified if more than 14 days and fewer than 180 days have passed since their second shot, or if they have received two shots and a booster.

The exemption does not apply to travelers from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Myanmar.

Jeju Air, the largest budget carrier, said on Sunday it is resuming Busan-Saipan service twice weekly starting on March 30. The flight will run on Wednesdays and Sundays.

The carrier said it plans to increase frequencies on some routes, including those connecting Incheon with Saipan, Harbin and Weihai, China.

"Our international passenger total last year was less than 1 percent of the figure in 2019 due to Covid-19, but we are getting ready to normalize international routes in time for the government's lifting of the quarantine regulations for people arriving in Korea," Jeju Air said in a statement on Sunday.

The airline handled 8.36 million passengers in 2019.

Jeju Air has rights to operate 40 international routes.

Jin Air is resuming Busan-Guam service on April 16 after it was suspended in March 2020.

"We plan to resume other international flights based on each country's Covid-19 regulations and travel demand," said a spokesperson for Jin Air.

Air Busan is also resuming Busan-Guam flights starting from April 30.

Full-service carriers are rapidly expanding international services too.

Korean Air Lines plans to fly Incheon-Narita seven times weekly from the current six times starting in April. Starting next month, Asiana Airlines is resuming its Incheon-Nagoya service, which was suspended in April last year.

In February, international passenger traffic at Incheon International Airport was up 92.7 percent on year — higher than the 69.2 percent on-year growth in January.

"The scrapping of the quarantine will raise demand, but the fuel cost and inflation should be continuously monitored because they could reduce consumption and limit the recovery of flight demand," said Jung Yeon-seung, an analyst at NH Securities & Investment.

Oil prices have been volatile recently due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

Currently, 29 countries allow conditional entry of vaccinated people, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday. The conditions include submitting a PCR negative test and a document that proves vaccination.

Countries that allow vaccinated travelers to enter without quarantine include the United States, Oman and Uruguay.

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