South Korean airliners are rushing to expand flights to Japan as Tokyo is allowing visa-free pleasure trips and lifting the cap on the number of inbound travelers after 30 months of closure.

Korean Air Lines Co. is doubling flights from Incheon, Korea to popular Japanese destinations of Tokyo and Osaka to 14 times a week from Oct. 11, the flag carrier announced Tuesday.

The route between Incheon and Fukuoka will be run three times a week from Oct. 14, and daily from Oct. 30. The Incheon-Sapporo route will be reopened on Oct. 30.

Flights between Incheon and Nagoya will be expanded to five times a week from November and then to daily services from December. The Busan-Narita flight will be operated seven times a week from Oct. 13.

Another full-service name Asiana Airlines Inc. will also bolster flights from next month.

Service to Narita will be expanded to 12 times a week from Oct. 30, Osaka to 10 times, Fukuoka to seven times, and Nagoya to three times. The Gimpo-Haneda option, the shortest route connecting Seoul and Tokyo, will soon open.

Asiana Airlines operated about 143 flights per week to Japan in the summer of 2019 before pandemic. This summer, the flights have stayed at 29. It expects flights to return to 40 percent of the pre-pandemic level by winter.

Jeju Air Co. will increase flights from Incheon to Narita, Osaka and Fukuoka to twice a day from Oct. 1 and resume services on the Gimpo-Osaka route and the Incheon-Sapporo route to seven times a week on Oct. 30.

Air Busan will start daily service from Busan to Fukuoka and Osaka from Oct. 11, and the route will be run twice a day from Oct. 17. The Incheon-Osaka route will be run every day from Oct. 20.

By Pulse

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]