South Korean airlines are expected to expand flights to China starting next month in a move to keep up with the growing demand following Beijing’s resumption of group tours to Korea.

According to multiple sources from the airline industry on Sunday, Korean Air Lines Co. will resume flights between Incheon and Wuhan and Incheon and Weihai next month for the first time in three years after they were suspended due to Covid-19.

The full-service carrier will operate the Incheon-Wuhan route three times a week starting Sept. 24 and the Incheon-Weihai route four times a week from Sept. 27.

The resumption comes as the number of Chinese travelers is projected to surge during the Chinese National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays between Sept. 29 and Oct. 6.

Korean Air had initially planned to reduce flights to China after passenger demand showed signs of a decline. The airline announced in June that it would suspend its Gimpo-Beijing route from August. However, Korean Air withdrew its decision and decided to continue to operate the route.

Korean Air is also considering resuming flights between Jeju, Korea’s major holiday destination, and mainland China.

Low-cost carriers (LCCs), which have been focusing on flights to Japan and Southeast Asia, are also preparing to expand flights to China.

Jin Air Co. is considering resuming its Jeju-Xian route in the second half of the year. Air Seoul Co. is also thinking of bringing forward the launch of its Hong Kong and Shandong Peninsula routes, which it had planned for October.

Jeju Air Co. will also operate Chinese routes as soon as it brings in the next-generation B737-8 aircraft later this year.

According to global data tracker CEIC Data Co., Korea was the fourth-most popular destination for Chinese travelers in the first half of this year after Thailand, Japan, and Vietnam

In the first six months of the year, 536,393 Chinese visited Korea, down 19.5 percent from the first half of 2019.

There are growing expectations that more Chinese travelers will visit Korea following the resumption of group tours to Korea.

“The number of Chinese travelers (to Korea) is expected to reach 1.4 million in the second half of this year,” said Jeon Jong-kyu, an analyst at Samsung Securities Co. “Group tours were allowed to Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore in the first quarter of this year, which means that the recovery of Chinese visitors to Korea will likely be faster.”

Asiana Airlines Inc., the country’s second-largest full-service carrier, in the meantime, plans to maintain suspension in China-Korea flights until Oct. 28.

“We will monitor the market situation and operate flexibly,” said an official from Asiana Airlines. “We will operate flights when demand is secured.”

By Oh Soo-hyun and Choi Jieun

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