Korea Airports Corporation Holds Emergency Meeting on Resuming Gimpo-Haneda Route

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] Yoon Hyung-jung, President of Korea Airports Corporation, announced on the 13th that he held an emergency meeting with Hisayasu Suzuki, Vice President of Japan Airport Building, to prepare for the full-scale resumption of the Gimpo~Haneda route and mutual cooperation.

President Yoon and Vice President Suzuki agreed on the need for thorough quarantine measures and flawless preparation for airport facility operations to ensure stable route restoration. They promised various collaborations such as continuous information sharing and joint marketing and promotions in line with the quarantine easing policies of both countries.

President Yoon requested the Japanese side to make government recommendations necessary for route establishment, including flight approvals, to revitalize human exchanges between the two countries through the Gimpo~Haneda route. Vice President Suzuki considered the resumption of the Gimpo~Haneda route, a representative route between Korea and Japan, as the top priority. He stated that he would actively strive for government recommendations to resume the route.

Earlier, on March 31, the corporation discussed cooperation plans with Isao Takashiro, Chairman of Japan Airport Building, to expedite the resumption of the Gimpo~Haneda route. Recently, in line with the government's improvement of Korea-Japan relations and the resumption trend of the Gimpo~Haneda route, a city airport route between the two countries, the airport authorities held another meeting to ensure close cooperation.

President Yoon Hyung-jung explained, “The resumption of the Gimpo-Haneda route, a representative route between Korea and Japan, is significant as it signals the beginning of the restoration of stagnant Korea-Japan relations. We will do our utmost to manage the airport quarantine system so that passengers can use the airport with trust and peace of mind for the prompt resumption of the route.”

The Gimpo~Haneda route is the fastest air route connecting Seoul and Tokyo, the capitals of Korea and Japan, and is a golden route with high usage by Korea-Japan business and travelers, with 168 weekly flights and 2.05 million annual passengers before COVID-19.

Before COVID-19, Gimpo Airport operated five international routes to Tokyo (Haneda), Osaka (Kansai) in Japan, Shanghai (Hongqiao), Beijing in China, and Taipei (Songshan) in Taiwan. The corporation is making its best efforts, including holding relay meetings with major overseas airport authorities, to resume international flights following the easing of quarantine measures.

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