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| An Air Busan airplane / Courtesy of Air Busan |
Air service resumed on a route between Korea's Gimhae International Airport and Japan's Fukuoka, Tuesday, making 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, attended by 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 following a two-year suspension due to the pandemic. Gimhae used to see about 3 million passengers travel annually to 13 cities in Japan before COVID-19. The Gimhae-Fukuoka route, the closest 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 and restore demand as soon as possible following the resumption of flights.
