South Korea to add 100 weekly international flights from May 2022

South Korea plans to add about 100 international flights per week starting May 2022 as demand for overseas travel is expected to increase, said officials. This announcement comes as South Korean Covid-19 cases have been declining for about three weeks, and the government has eased Covid-19 restrictions. 

Currently, only 420 international fights a week serve South Korea, down from 4,714 before the pandemic. “From next month onwards, the government will authorize a further 100 weekly flights for such destinations as the United States, Europe, Thailand, and Singapore, where quarantine exemptions and visa-free entry are possible,” Minister of the Interior and Safety Jeon Hae-Cheol said. “Then 100 more weekly international flights will be added in June and a further 300 in July,” the transport ministry said.

"Demand for overseas visits is expected to increase, as countries that have passed the peak of the Omicron wave have eased quarantine policies," Jeon said in a statement. The country is considering scrapping most pandemic-related curbs later this month, including an obligation to wear masks outdoors, after already dropping national vaccine mandates and mandatory quarantine for vaccinated travellers arriving from overseas.

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The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported 286,294 new cases for April 5, down from a record 621,328 in mid-March. Shares in Korean Air rose as much as 1.7 percent after the announcement, versus a 0.9 percent drop in the wider market.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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