South Korea: 'More than 20,000 passengers have boarded international sightseeing flights'

More than 20,000 passengers have boarded "international sightseeing flights" operated by domestic airlines, which take passengers over other countries and then return to Korea. The special services were launched in December last year to generate profits for airlines and duty-free stores amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Passengers using these flights are given the same duty-free benefits as other passengers using regular international flights. According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korea Customs Service, a total of 216 special flights have operated between Dec. 12 and Aug. 31, with the number of passengers tallied at 22,551. The passengers have spent a total of $28m at duty-free shops and the most popular products were cosmetics, whose sales reached 8.2b won. The flights, which departed only from Incheon International Airport at the beginning, began departing from other domestic airports such as Gimpo, Gimhae and Daegu international airports, starting in May.<br/>