Air Busan to expand international routes in July

Air Busan Co., a budget carrier unit of Asiana Airlines Inc., said Tuesday it will open more international flight routes next month in response to eased travel restrictions.

In July, Air Busan will newly open three international routes -- Busan-Nah Trang, Incheon-Da Nang, and Incheon-Fukuoka routes -- and reopen the previously suspended five routes from Busan to Ulan Bator, Osaka, Sapporo, Cebu, and Kota Kinabalu of Malaysia, the company said in a statement.

The carrier aims to operate a total of 17 international routes -- 11 from the Gimhae airport and six from Incheon International Airport -- by the end of next month.

On Jan. 23, Air Busan began to offer one flight per week on the Busan-Saipan route following a travel bubble agreement with Saipan, a quarantine-free travel partnership between two or more cities or countries with similar COVID-19 situations.

The carrier resumed its Busan-Guam and Busan-Fukuoka routes in April and May, respectively, and opened its routes from Incheon to Osaka and Narita last month. It plans to reopen the Busan-Da Nang route this month while opening the routes from Incheon to Nha Trang and Kota Kinabalu.

Air Busan operated 25 international routes with 25 A321 chartered planes before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the airline industry two years ago. (Yonhap)