A new regional airline hoping to specialize in bringing tourists to the Gangwon Province area was denied an operating license by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, according to the airline Friday.

In a statement, Fly Yangyang said the Transport Ministry decided not to issue an operating license due to “the risk of financial instability in the early stages of operation as well as insufficient safeguards for safety and consumer convenience.”


If the license had been granted, Fly Yangyang would have begun servicing flights in August.

Fly Yangyang had applied for a license on Dec. 6 last year. Although it said that it has already made improvements in financing and safety since then, the airline said it accepts the Ministry’s decision and will apply for another license. 

The regional airline describes itself as a “tourism convergence carrier” specializing in in-bound air traffic, focusing on connecting tourist groups coming in from China and Southeast Asia to the tourism resources of Gangwon Province.

In applying for the operating license, Fly Yangyang had pointed to the fact that inbound tourism was almost completely focused on major airports in Seoul and Busan and on Jeju Island, while other airports in other parts of the country had been left nearly empty. 

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)