Korea/China: Airlines reducing routes to China

Korean Air is joining Asiana Airlines in reducing the number of flights to China and operating smaller planes bound for the country in line with the declining number of Chinese visitors. Korea's six low-cost carriers have also taken similar steps amid China's escalating economic retaliation against Seoul's deployment of a US missile defense system, which has invited a strong backlash from the world's second-largest economy. Since March when Korea decided to deploy the U.S. anti-missile Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, Chinese authorities have instructed travel agencies not to send tour groups to Asia's fourth-largest economy. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of Chinese visitors plummeted 41% to 2.25m in the first half of 2017 from the previous year. In addition, the number of Koreans flying to China has dropped sharply amid the tense Korea-Sino relations, forcing local carriers to scale back flights between the two nations. Korean Air said Monday it will not operate a route linking the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian to Incheon International Airport, beginning Oct. 29. Korea's largest flagship carrier also plans to stop flying between Busan and Shanghai, citing a drop in the number of passengers. Story has further details of changes.<br/>