Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc., South Korea's two biggest carriers, said Tuesday they will expand non-scheduled flights to India this month to bring home Koreans residing there amid the spreading COVID-19 pandemic.

Korean Air and Asiana said they plan to provide two and seven flights, respectively, in May to the virus-hit South Asian country.

It is up from one and four flights that Korean Air and Asiana originally planned for this month.

Asiana already flew two flights on routes to Delhi and Bengaluru on May 5 and 8, with five remaining flights scheduled on May 11, 14, 21, 27 and 30 to the two Indian cities.

Korean Air plans to run flights to Delhi on May 17 and 23.

The two carriers said they will consider operating further non-regular flights to India next month depending on demand.

Passenger jets bound for Incheon, South Korea's main gateway, from India are required to fill less than 60 percent of their seats, and the proportion of Koreans needs to exceed 90 percent of all passengers.

Korean Air and Asiana have suspended their flights to Delhi since March 2020 and July 2019, respectively, as India has strengthened entry restrictions to stem the virus surge. (Yonhap)