Gimpo-China flights recover to pre-pandemic levels

The number of flights between Gimpo International Airport and Chinese destinations has recovered to pre-pandemic levels, according to the Korea Airports Corp., Monday. The airport operator said the total weekly flights between Gimpo and the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai returned to 56 as of Sunday, after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Four airlines ― Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Air China and China Southern Airlines ― will each operate seven flights per week between Gimpo and Beijing. Among them, China Southern Airlines' newly-launched air route will fly to Beijing's Daxing International Airport ― the Chinese capital's second airport that opened before the pandemic in September 2019. Daxing is also the world's biggest airport that is expected to handle up to 100m passengers in the future. Between Gimpo and Shanghai, a total of 28 weekly flights will be restored to pre-pandemic levels with four air carriers ― Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai ― each operating seven flights per week. On Monday, the KAC held a commemorative event at Gimpo airport's international terminal. High-ranking officials of the KAC and the airlines, as well as Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming were invited to the event. "Before the pandemic, the exchange between the two countries was very dynamic, with around 10m annual travelers and 1,200 weekly flights," Chinese Ambassador to Korea Xing Haiming told The Korea Times, highlighting the importance of a resumption in exchanges between the two countries. He explained that both countries still see high travel demand from tourists and business people. The resumption of flights between Gimpo and China will "create a new dynamic in human resource exchanges and economic cooperation between the two countries," he said.<br/>