South Korean full-service carrier Asiana Airlines Inc. will resume services from Incheon, Korea to Nanjing, China on Sunday upon the approval from the Chinese authority for the operation, signaling a return to normalcy in air travel between the two countries cut by COVID-19.

The flight will depart from Incheon at 12:20 p.m. on Sundays and return from Nanjing at 2:50 p.m. on the same day.

It would be the first resumption of an additional flight service to China since Beijing in March announced a strict restriction policy to limit only one flight per airline a week between the two countries to reduce the coronavirus cases from outside the country. Under the rule, a single airliner can fly once a week on one route to China.

The latest approval came after Seoul and Beijing reached an agreement to expand flights between the two countries which have plunged since the virus pandemic. Asiana Airlines was granted to run two routes to China in addition to the service to Changchun. Other airliners also are in negotiation with the Chinese authority to increase flights.

From Korea, full-service name Korean Air Lines run flights to Shenyang, and LCC Jeju Air services to Weihai.

By Song Gwang-sup and Lee Ha-yeon

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