Duty-free sales to be allowed on all overseas flights out of rural airports

Any international flights departing from Korea's regional airports will be able offer duty-free shopping on board, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) announced on Thursday. In-flight duty-free sales on planes bound for overseas destinations have been allowed only under the condition that the duty-free items are loaded directly from the airports where the corresponding planes depart. This rule is premised on airlines operating international flights at Korea's smaller airports being equipped with their own inventories of duty-free items. Big-name carriers could afford to have inventories at smaller airports, such as Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province and Yangyang International Airport in Gangwon Province. But low-cost carriers could not afford to do so, as they have inventories only at three major airports in Gimpo, Incheon and Gimhae due to financial reasons. They as a result have not offered in-flight duty-free sales.<br/>