BUSAN– Air service resumed on a route between South Korea’s Gimhae International Airport and Japan’s Fukuoka on Tuesday, making the gateway to Busan the first local airport to reopen an international route to Japan, excluding Incheon International Airport, the main gateway to Seoul, after the COVID-19 outbreak.
Following a resumption ceremony at Gimhae International Airport, attended by South Korean and Japanese officials, an Air Busan jet carrying about 60 passengers departed for Fukuoka, according to the Korea Airports Corporation (KAC).
The resumption of the Busan-Fukuoka air route came after two years of suspension caused by the pandemic. Gimhae International Airport used to transport about 3 million passengers annually to 13 cities in Japan before COVID-19. The Gimhae-Fukuoka route, the closest route in terms of geography between the two countries, was previously used by about 770,000 people a year.
KAC officials said they will try to normalize international flights at Gimhae International Airport and restore air demand as soon as possible following the resumption of flights between Busan and Fukuoka.
Source: Yonhap News Agency