Tokyo-Incheon red-eye flights resume after three years

Japanese travelers pose for a commemorative photo at Incheon International Airport on Monday morning. [YONHAP]

Red-eye flights from Tokyo to Incheon have resumed after a three-year hiatus, Incheon Airport Corporation announced Monday.

The Tokyo-Incheon night flights were suspended on March 5, 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Starting Monday, the flights take off every day of the week, departing from Haneda Airport at 2 a.m. and arriving at Incheon International Airport at 4:35 a.m.

"The annual demand for flights will increase by some 153,000 travelers, backed by the revival of various tours to Korea," Incheon International Airport said in a statement, citing one-day trips and red-eye trips on the weekends by young Japanese tourists.

The passenger load factor for this route was 88 percent in November 2019.

The Incheon Airport Corporation held a welcome event giving out souvenirs and flower bouquets to Japanese travelers who arrived at Incheon on the first resuming flight Monday morning.

BY LEE SOO-KI [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]