Jeju Air, South Korea’s largest budget carrier, said Wednesday it will launch flight services to three Chinese cities starting next month to meet rising passenger demand.

The low-cost carrier said it will provide irregular flight services on the routes between South Korea’s city of Cheongju and the two Chinese cities of Yenji and Ninbo and another route between Incheon and China’s city of Shijianzhung.

The carrier owned by Aekyung Industrial, the country’s largest laundry detergent maker, said its move reflects growing demand for flights linking the two neighboring countries.

Industry data showed that there were 2.82 million people who flew the route between South Korea and China in the first quarter, up 19 percent from 2.36 million tallied the year before.

The budget carrier, which has 15 B737-800s in its fleet, said it will continue to offer nonregular flights to six Chinese cities ― Qiqihar, Wenzhou, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Xian and Chengdu. Jeju Air started providing flight services to those Chinese cities beginning on April 1. (Yonhap)