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Korea, UAE agree to open new direct-flight rights for regional airports

Published: 23 Nov. 2025, 19:26

SEO JI-EUN
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The Burj Khalifa [VISIT DUBAI]

Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreed to open new direct-flight rights between Korean regional airports and all UAE airports, following recent bilateral aviation talks.

Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Sunday that the two sides agreed to create four weekly traffic rights exclusively for regional airports during the ICAO Air Services Negotiation Event 2025 held from Nov. 10 to 24 in the Dominican Republic.

Currently, air service rights between the two countries are limited to 21 weekly flights, with carriers operating only two routes: Incheon-Dubai and Incheon-Abu Dhabi.

"The UAE is an important partner in sectors such as construction and energy infrastructure and a frequent transit point for Korean travelers heading to Europe and Africa," the Korean ministries said in a joint statement.

Authorities pledged to expedite approvals if airlines seek to launch such services, saying they will continue expanding regional-airport traffic rights to improve mobility for residents outside the capital region.

The UAE is the latest addition to countries receiving regional-airport–exclusive traffic rights in the past three years with Korea. Past cases included Mongolia, Kuwait and Poland in 2023, and Indonesia, the Philippines, Uzbekistan and Turkey in 2024.

Separately, Korea reached an agreement with the Dominican Republic to conclude an air services pact and initialed the draft text. The two countries will complete their respective domestic procedures before signing the agreement, which will become Korea’s tenth air services agreement with a Latin American country.

The government said the accord will lay the groundwork for expanding air connectivity with Latin American nations that have had little to no direct-flight cooperation with Korea to date.

BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]