South Korea: Airlines to resume flights to Saipan this month

South Korean airlines will resume flights to Saipan later this month as scheduled despite a recent surge in COVID-19 cases. The Seoul government recently signed a quarantine-free travel bubble agreement with Saipan to allow group tours of fully vaccinated Koreans to such holiday destinations. The government is in talks with Guam and Singapore to sign travel bubble deals in preparation for an increase in outbound travel demand as early as late this year. Among local carriers, Jeju Air resumed flights to Saipan on June 8 in a preemptive measure to absorb post-coronavirus travel demand. Asiana Airlines and T'way Air plan to take off for Saipan from July 24 and July 29, respectively, according to the companies. Korean Air Lines Co. did not operate the route to Saipan. Korean Air and Asiana ― the country's two full-service carriers ― said they are considering reopening routes to Guam, Singapore, Hawaii and Taiwan later this year, while low-cost carriers, like Air Seoul and Air Busan, also said they plan to resume flights to spots such as Guam and Saipan within this year.<br/>