Italy Grants Charter Flight for Korean Residents Within a Day

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] The Korean residents in Italy are scheduled to return home as planned on the 31st of this month (local time) and the 1st of next month.

According to local sources on the 26th, Korean Air requested flight permits for two charter flights arranged by the Korean government from the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) the day before and received approval that evening.

Since flight permits for regular and non-regular flights usually take about five business days to process, receiving approval in less than 24 hours is unusual. This is interpreted as a measure taken by local authorities considering the friendly relations between Korea and Italy and the emergency situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Korean Air reportedly specified the purpose of the charter flights as "transporting Korean residents back to their home country due to the COVID-19 situation" when requesting the flight permits.

The number of passengers on the charter flights to Korea has been tentatively confirmed at 581. There will be 430 passengers from Milan and 151 from Rome. One flight will depart directly from Milan Malpensa Airport to Incheon on the 31st of this month, and the other will leave Rome Fiumicino Airport on the 1st of next month, pick up the remaining passengers in Milan, and then head to Incheon.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.