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Korean Air to suspend flights to two Japanese cities

June 12, 2014

(Yonhap) — Korean Air Lines Co., South Korea’s largest flag carrier, said Thursday that it will temporally suspend flight services to two destinations in Japan due to a drop in passenger traffic.

The airline said flights linking Incheon International Airport, the South’s main gate way, to Akita Airport, located in the northwestern part of Honshu, will be halted from July 26 through Oct. 25.

Flights to Oita Airport that service the city of Kunisaki in northeastern Kyushu will be halted starting on July 4 and recommence after Oct. 24, the carrier said.

Korean Air said the fall in passenger traffic on the routes was due to the depreciation of the yen to the U.S. dollar, chilly ties over history issues with Japan and the deadly sinking of the Sewol causing Japanese schools to cancel student excursions to South Korea.

The sharp drop in inbound Japanese tourists had adversely affected the bottom line of South Korean airlines last year. Korean Air provided flight services to Akita since 2001 and to Oita from 2012 onwards.