Tel Aviv-Seoul Direct Flight to Start

The government Friday said a direct route between Seoul and Israel will open around October, reducing flight time to the Middle Eastern country.

The nation's largest airline, Korean Air, has received permission to launch three weekly passenger flights and one cargo service to Israel, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs said.

Currently, Korean airplanes have to make a detour to go to Israel by flying to Europe or Turkey. Such detours take over 20 hours compared with less than 12 hours for a direct flight.

Korean Air and another domestic carrier Asiana have been authorized to operate a total of eight flights to Uzbekistan in Central Asia, which is undergoing rapid economic growth.

Asiana, meanwhile, has been allowed to begin two regular flights per week to Kazakhstan that will replace chartered services.

The two airliners have also been given permission to increase flight services to Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Nepal and Hong Kong.