South Korea to increase flights to quarantinefree nations next month

KOTA KINABALU: Korean tourists will return to Sabah next month when the South Korean government increases the weekly number of international flights to Covid-19 quarantinefree nations by 100 flights every month starting in May.

This in line with growing demand for overseas travel, Interior Minister Jeon Hae Cheol said Wednesday.

The country’s Covid-19 wave has been on the downturn for the third week in a row, and demand for overseas travel is expected to go up as foreign nations are gradually lifting quarantine requirements after passing their Omicron infection peaks, the minister said during a government coronavirus response meeting.

“Ending its 10-week ascent, the (daily) infection tally has been on the decline for a third consecutive week,” Jeon said as reported by Yonhap news agency.

“The average daily infections over the past week came to some 270,000, about 30 percent less than the previous week,” he added.

From July, the rate of expansion will be further increased to 300 flights every month, he said.

Currently, the number of international flights is 420 per week, which amounts to 8.9 per cent of the pre-pandemic level.

The planned increase is expected to raise the number to around 50 per cent of that in 2019, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Demand for overseas travel is expected to recover to about 83 per cent of the level seen before the pandemic across the globe and 40 per cent for the Asian market, the ministry added.

The minister said the government will also normalise international flight services at regional airports, adding Muan, Cheongju and Jeju International Airport could resume international routes next month while other regional airports will follow suit down the road.

The transport ministry said it plans to normalise all flightrelated policies when the pandemic reaches an endemic phase, which will be around October.

The country’s Covid-19 reproduction rate has fallen to 0.91 for the week ending Saturday while the hospital bed occupancy rate for seriously ill patients is being stably managed at around 60 per cent, the minister said.

Starting April 1, Malaysia will allow quarantine-free entry for fully-vaccinated travellers, ending almost two years of stringent border controls introduced to contain the Covid19 outbreak.