A Jeju Air flight descends to land at the Jeju International Airport in Jeju, South Korea on December 30, 2024. Photo: VCG

South Korean airline Jeju Air plans to expand its routes from multiple domestic airports to China in anticipation of rising travel demand.

According to the Yonhap News Agency on Monday, starting from July 25, the airline will launch a new route between Busan and Shanghai, operating four times a week. Flights will depart from Gimhae International Airport in Busan at 10:15 pm (local time) and arrive at Shanghai Pudong International Airport at 12:05 am the next day, the report said. The return flight will depart Shanghai at 4:00 am and arrive in Gimhae at 6:40 am.

Beginning on October 1, Jeju Air will also start operating a route between Incheon and Guilin four times a week, according to the report.

Korean Air resumed the Beijing-Busan route on July 1, with 194 flights per week planned for July and 206 flights per week in August, and the number of flights has basically returned to the pre-COVID level, according to information Korean Air shared with the Global Times. 

The company said that the actual increase in bookings for the company's China-South Korea routes exceeded the increase in capacity during July and August. From July 1 to 5, the passenger load factor of flights from South Korea to China increased by 7 percent year-on-year, the airline said.

Data that industry information provider VariFlight shared with the Global Times on Monday showed that since May, Jeju Air resumed flights between Jeju and Xi'an, operating twice a week on Saturdays and Sundays. Moreover, flights between Incheon and Weihai will increase to three times a week by October 25, and flights between Incheon and Yanji will add one service per week until August 26, according to VariFlight.

The number of travelers on China-bound routes has steadily increased since November, reflecting China's visa-free entry for citizens from countries including South Korea, the South Korean media outlet reported.

According to data from the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, more than 356,000 South Korean visitors arrived in Shanghai in the first five months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 138.6 percent. South Korea has become one of the largest sources of inbound tourists to the city.

To further facilitate personnel exchanges, China announced in November 2024 an expansion of its visa-free policy to include nationals from nine more countries, including South Korea, who could enter China without a visa for up to 15 days for business, tourism, visiting relatives, or transit purposes from November 8, 2024 until December 31, 2025.

Global Times