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Gov't to push for 'quarantine-free corridors' to support ailing aviation industry
Passengers move into a gate to board Air Seoul's “international sightseeing flight” at Incheon International Airport, Feb. 20. The special flight flew over Japan and returned to Korea. Joint press corps
By Jun Ji-hye
'Int'l sightseeing flights' to be expanded to inbound travelers
By Jun Ji-hye
The government will push to establish “travel bubbles” or quarantine-free corridors with other countries that have managed to curtail COVID-19 infections as part of efforts to support the aviation industry hit hard by the prolonged pandemic.
A “travel bubble,” sometimes called a travel corridor, is a partnership between two or more designated cities or countries with similar rates of COVID-19 infections to allow for quarantine-free air travel in both directions. It does not set a limit on the purpose of a visit, and thus is different from fast-track entries for business travelers.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Wednesday that the measure would help airlines, which have suffered from record-low passenger levels, to take steps to resume their operation of international routes.
The government will also push to expand “international sightseeing flights,” which currently depart from Incheon International Airport and return without landing at an overseas destination, to flights that depart from regional airports and even from foreign airports.
The latest measures were announced as the prolonged public health crisis around the world has weighed on the aviation industry since last year, with countries closing their borders.
The government has so far implemented a variety of support plans, including a reduction in fees for the use of airport facilities, to help cushion the impact felt by carriers and maintain jobs.
But the industry has faced continued difficulties, with the number of international passengers in December falling 97 percent from a year earlier. The ministry noted it would take time for the pandemic to come to an end, and for air travel demand to recover fully.
A line of airplanes are parked at Incheon International Airport in this April 24 photo. Yonhap
“The government will push to form travel bubbles with other countries to relax restrictions on air travel, based on controlled COVID-19 situations,” Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki said during a government meeting on economic affairs in Seoul. “We will also push to introduce an app-based digital travel pass showing passengers have been vaccinated or tested negative for the coronavirus.”
The transport ministry explained that the digital travel pass project is aimed at resolving inconveniences encountered during immigration procedures caused by enhanced restrictions, noting that the project will be pursued in close cooperation with health authorities.
In addition, the ministry will diversify “international sightseeing flights,” which have been operated by domestic airlines since late last year to fly passengers over other countries and then return to Korea. Passengers using this service enjoy duty free benefits.
The government will allow these special flights, which have been departing from Incheon International Airport, to depart from regional airports so the service can be used by more people.
The ministry said the service will also be expanded to inbound travelers so that people in foreign countries can board planes at airports there to fly over the Korean Peninsula and then return to the point of departure.
“The government is considering allowing inbound travelers to get off a plane and travel within or around domestic airports at some point when COVID-19 infections decrease and more people are vaccinated,” a ministry official said.
He added that the ministry will continue reducing fees for the use of airport facilities for airlines for another six months until June. The measure was supposed to be terminated at the end of last year.
“We will continue to monitor situations facing the aviation industry to decide on whether to expand the reduction further,” the official said.