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Korean Air, Asiana Airlines routes to be redistributed to avoid monopoly

Published: 21 Oct. 2025, 14:53 Updated: 21 Oct. 2025, 16:52

SHIN MIN-HEE
[email protected]

An Asiana Airlines plane passes in front of a Korean Air aircraft on the runway at Incheon International Airport on Feb. 13, 2024. [NEWS1]

The process of redistributing 10 monopolized air routes operated by Korean Air and Asiana Airlines is set to begin, the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said on Tuesday.

The move follows a decision by the airlines' merger monitoring committee, which met on Monday at the Korea Fair Trade Mediation Agency in Jung District, central Seoul.

The committee is responsible for overseeing the implementation of corrective measures regarding the merger. The FTC approved the merger in December last year on the condition that airport slots and traffic rights for 34 routes be transferred to alternative carriers due to monopoly concerns.

Airport slots refer to designated takeoff and landing schedules for each airline, which grant it the right to use the airport facilities during that time. Traffic rights mean an airline's authority to operate flights to a specific country.

The 10 routes that will reallocate their slots and traffic rights include four to the United States, four domestic routes, one to London and one to Jakarta.

The reassignment process will involve an open call for bids from other carriers, eligibility review and selection by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s air transport evaluation committee.

The alternative carriers will be able to operate the newly transferred routes beginning in the first half of 2026 at the earliest.

Slots and traffic rights for six routes — those between Incheon and Los Angeles, San Francisco, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris and Rome — have already been successfully reassigned to Air Premia, United Airlines and T'way Air.

The remaining 18 routes will undergo the reassignment process early next year.

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [[email protected]]