Suspension and reduction of flights between Japan and Korea are accelerating. This is because the use of Korean tourists has decreased due to political conflicts. Over 60% of routes are expected to be suspended or reduced, especially in rural areas, where the number of flights is expected to drop to one-third. Such a move could go further, especially in the regions that have been supported by Korean tourists.
The prospects of suspension and reduction of flights were found through interviews with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, airlines, and airports. The number of routes and the number of flights scheduled to be in the future or whether the number of flights has already been suspended or reduced as of the 30th. Even if the destination was the same, but the airline was different, it was considered a different route.
Eleven Japanese and Korean companies operate direct flights between Japan and Korea. In July, there were at least 128 routes in service with 26 domestic airports on a total of 128 routes, and more than 90% were Korean airline flights.
There are 43 routes that have been suspended, and 42 routes are scheduled to be reduced. The total number of flights reduced is 439, which is 33% of the total.
Narita, Haneda, Chubu, Kansai and Fukuoka airports will be suspended or reduced on 41 out of 71 routes (57%). The demand for these routes was strong due to the high usage of business customers. The number of suspensions was 11 routes (15%), and the total number of flights decreased to 23% of the total.
On the other hand, out of 57 routes, there were 44 routes (77%) out of 57 routes in 21 regional airports except for 5 airports, of which 32 routes (56%) were suspended. In particular, the seven airports in Asahikawa, Ibaraki, Toyama, Komatsu, Saga, Oita, and Kumamoto are expected to be suspended. The total number of flights reduced at 21 airports has risen to 207, dropping from 320 before the reduction to just over a third. At these airports, the suspension and reduction of flights by South Korean low-cost carriers (LCC) are particularly noticeable.
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