Martial Arts - Asiana Launches Charter Flights to Open Air Routes to China

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and Asiana Airlines will operate a charter flight to Chongqing, China on the 4th to support the export activities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

On the 3rd, Hanjin Hyun, Vice Chairman of KITA, and Kim Young-heon, Head of Passenger Division at Asiana Airlines, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at COEX in Samseong-dong, agreeing to operate one charter flight per week until October. The charter flight is scheduled to head to Chongqing, one of China's four direct-controlled municipalities and a central city for western development.

The first charter flight will depart on the 4th carrying about 120 of our small and medium-sized businesspeople to Chongqing. Businesspeople arriving via the charter flight will undergo a 14-day quarantine locally before moving to business sites across China to visit factories and hold business meetings.

Through this agreement, Asiana Airlines will also prioritize allocating some seats on regular flights to KITA members and other SMEs, separate from the charter operations. Due to the impact of COVID-19, the number of regular flights to China has drastically decreased, causing airfares to soar by two to three times and making tickets difficult to obtain. This cooperation is expected to partially alleviate the overseas business travel demand of SMEs. The number of Korea-China regular flights, which was 1,260 per week last year, has dropped sharply to 46 per week as of September.

Vice Chairman Hanjin Hyun emphasized, "This agreement is the first case of cooperation between an export support organization and an airline to open air routes for SMEs," adding, "KITA will continue to do its best to support the safe export activities of SMEs with overseas business travel needs."

After the pandemic blocked export routes, KITA operated special charter flights to Guangzhou and Dongguan in Guangdong Province, China, in July and August, and on the 13th of last month, jointly with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, opened the 'Comprehensive Support Center for Businesspeople's Entry and Exit' at COEX.

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