"Bought Duty-Free Goods Abroad Without Setting Foot in Japan" Air Busan Finds Success with Niche Product Amid COVID-19

Air Busan to Operate Two Non-Stop International Sightseeing Flights in October

Departing from Gimhae International Airport, Sightseeing Over Kumamoto, Japan

Air Busan aircraft.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] An international sightseeing flight without setting foot on foreign soil?

Even if the flight passes through foreign airspace, it is considered as entering that country, allowing passengers to purchase duty-free goods as part of overseas tourism. However, since the territory is not physically entered, a visa is not required. Air Busan is enjoying “solid fun” with this niche tourism product.

Due to COVID-19, Air Busan launched the country’s first non-landing flight product last year and will operate another non-landing international sightseeing flight this coming October.

On the 23rd, Air Busan announced that it will operate two non-landing international sightseeing flights passing over Japanese airspace on October 16 and 30.

The schedule departs from Gimhae International Airport at 10 a.m., passes over Tsushima Island, tours the western Kyushu region of Japan including Saga and Kumamoto, and returns to Gimhae Airport by 11:30 a.m.

The airfare starts from a total of 100,900 KRW and tickets can be purchased through the Air Busan website and mobile web/app.

Air Busan will also operate one “regional tourism-linked international sightseeing flight” on the Gimpo-Gimhae route.

The “regional tourism-linked international sightseeing flight,” first introduced by Air Busan on the 10th of last month, is not a non-landing international sightseeing flight that returns to the departure point after takeoff, but operates on routes where the departure and arrival points differ, such as Gimpo→Gimhae and Gimhae→Jeju.

Although the departure and arrival points are domestic, the flight passes over Japanese airspace before reaching the destination, so it is considered an international flight.

Unlike non-landing flights, this product allows passengers to move to another domestic location while still being able to purchase duty-free goods, attracting attention as a unique flight product.

Last month, Air Busan operated this flight product twice, achieving an average load factor of 94%, demonstrating its popularity.

Air Busan will operate the “regional tourism-linked international sightseeing flight” scheduled for October as a charter flight in partnership with Lotte Duty Free.

Both the non-landing and regional tourism-linked international sightseeing flight products will feature various events onboard.

Through an onboard lucky draw event, prizes such as △round-trip domestic flight tickets △Air Busan merchandise will be offered, and various souvenirs will be provided to all passengers.

An Air Busan official said, “As the airline that conducted the country’s first non-landing flight, we have prepared each non-landing flight with a different theme so that passengers can enjoy various pleasures. We highly recommend experiencing it at least once.”

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