'Sightseeing flights' take passengers over Dokdo on Liberation Day
Passengers look out of the window to enjoy the view, Sunday, during a “sightseeing flight” that took them over South Korean islets in the East Sea, Dokdo, on the Liberation Day. YonhapBy Jun Ji-hye'Sightseeing flights' to the Dokdo islets were operated for the first time on Sunday, on the occasion of National Liberation Day marking the 76th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. North Gyeongsang Province hosted the special event in a bid to promote a new Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province integrated airport scheduled to open in 2028 and another one scheduled to open on Ulleung Island near Dokdo in 2025.Dokdo has long been at the center of a territorial dispute between Korea and Japan, and the airspace over the islets is a military zone where passenger planes are usually not permitted to fly.The special event involving passenger flights was possible this time as a result of a month of consultations between the province and the Ministry of National Defense. Domestic air carrier Hi Air sent two 50-seat flights out of Daegu International Airport at
