South Korea and China Expand Flight Rights for First Time in 7 Years, Bilateral Exchanges Heat Up

(CNA Seoul 4th Combined Foreign News) South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport stated today that South Korea and China have agreed to expand flight rights for regular weekly flights between the two countries. This is the first increase in flight quotas in seven years, indicating a thaw in relations between the two Asian neighbors.

According to a Reuters report, the agreement was reached during bilateral aviation talks held in Seoul from May 27 to 28.

According to the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, passenger flight rights between the two countries will increase by 56 flights from 608 to 664 per week, and cargo flight rights will increase by 14 flights from 54 to 68 per week.

The Ministry noted that the agreement will help increase flights on high-demand routes such as Incheon-Shanghai and Incheon-Guangzhou. Currently, the existing flight rights on these routes are fully utilized by airlines from both countries.

Additionally, the new agreement will expand routes from Korean regional airports to China, including routes from Busan and Cheongju airports to 10 Chinese cities such as Guangzhou, Chengdu, Shenzhen, Chongqing, and Xi'an.

According to a statement from the Ministry, passenger traffic between South Korea and China in the first quarter of this year reached approximately 4.39 million, surpassing the pre-pandemic level of 4.14 million.

Lee So-young, Director of Aviation Policy at the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said that amid increasing exchanges between the two countries, reaching a timely agreement to expand flight rights through active aviation negotiations is an encouraging outcome.

He said, "We expect this agreement to help attract more Chinese tourists to South Korea, enhance convenience for our citizens traveling to China and for import/export companies, further promote the expansion of Korean airlines into the Chinese market, and contribute to economic revitalization." (Editor: Xu Ruicheng) 1150604