Byeongseok An, CEO of Air Busan, "Urgent Need to Expand Gimhae Airport International Flights"

Visited Government Sejong Cheong on the 23rd
Expansion Needed to Boost Local Tourism and Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] Air Busan announced on the 27th that CEO An Byeongseok visited the Government Sejong Complex on the 23rd and met with the head of the Overseas Entry Division of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

At the meeting, CEO An discussed issues and difficulties related to Gimhae Airport, including ▲expansion of international flights at Gimhae Airport ▲quarantine system at Gimhae Airport ▲easing of mandatory self-quarantine for overseas arrivals. He also emphasized that expanding international flights at Gimhae Airport is urgent for the recovery of the local tourism industry and revitalization of the regional economy.

Air Busan also organized meetings inviting representatives from the tourism industry and local political circles to discuss current issues. On the 10th, they held a ‘Busan Aviation and Tourism Industry Policy Meeting’ with the Busan branch of the Democratic Party of Korea. Subsequently, on the 25th, they held a meeting with the Busan branch of the People Power Party. Participants in the meetings urged party-level measures, stating that the local related industries are facing a crisis due to the priority policy favoring Incheon Airport.

Representatives from the tourism industry mainly complained about difficulties caused by the insufficient number of international routes at Gimhae Airport. Travel agency representatives explained that Incheon Airport has resumed operations on 86 routes, enabling rapid restoration of international flights. However, Gimhae Airport operates only three routes, two of which are available only once a week, making it impossible to organize travel packages. They also pointed out issues arising from the differential quarantine policies between Incheon Airport and Gimhae Airport, requesting expansion of international routes at Gimhae Airport and establishment of a quarantine system equivalent to that of Incheon Airport.

Both political parties, having received these policy proposals, expressed deep sympathy for the difficulties faced by the industry and responded that they would discuss improvement measures with government authorities. In fact, Air Busan’s efforts recently resulted in the quarantine authorities and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport deciding to increase flights on the Gimhae Airport to Saipan route last week.

CEO An Byeongseok of Air Busan stated, "We appreciate the support from Busan City, local lawmakers, and the community who are working hard to expand international flights at Gimhae Airport." He emphasized, "The expansion of international flights at Gimhae Airport has a huge impact not only on airlines but also on the entire related local industries, so we plan to actively engage in policy proposals to maintain employment for workers and revitalize the regional economy."

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