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Air France-KLM's CEO has urged Aeroports de Paris to improve the French capital's Charles de Gaulle airport, saying a shortage of jetways has created a daily struggle for aircraft parking spaces and higher operating costs. Speaking to reporters to mark the Franco-Dutch airline group's 20th anniversary, CE Ben Smith said that in the morning peak dozens of planes are left without a jetway or "contact" gate, forcing passengers to use buses to reach the terminal. "We have to have a negotiation every morning with ADP, depending on what the other airlines have, to try to find parking positions for our fleet," Smith said. ADP did not respond to requests for comment. In 2021, President Emmanuel Macron's government asked state-controlled ADP to come up with new proposals after ditching plans for an all-new terminal at CDG. Smith has no regrets over the government's decision to axe Terminal 4, citing a costly 15-year transition and the lack of a direct link to a proposed new rail line to the capital. Instead, he urged more investment in existing facilities. "We're not talking about new capacity. We're talking about improving what's already there. It's really important for us." Other group executives said discussions have begun with ADP over potential changes. Smith reeled off a list of other perceived faults including the long distance to maintenance hangars, tying up planes for hours in extra towing times. He also bemoaned a lack of border control staff and "baggage systems that are old".<br/>

Korean Air will restore six routes into Mainland China – its most significant ramp-up into China in recent months – as it looks to increase frequencies to three other Chinese points. The SkyTeam carrier also announced on 20 June it will ramp up operations into Japan on the back of “growing travel demand”. From 1 July, Korean Air will resume daily operations between Busan and Shanghai Pudong, as well as between Jeju and Beijing. In August, the airline will restore five weekly flights between Seoul’s Incheon airport and Hefei, followed by Busan-Beijing in September. In October, the airline will resume operations between Seoul and Kunming, with four weekly flights. Korean Air adds that it will increase frequencies on flights from Seoul to Yanji (four times a week to daily flights). Flights between the South Korean capital and Tianjin and Dalian will see the most significant ramp-up, with Tianjin increased to double daily and Dalian going from four weekly flights to 11 flights a week. The ramp-up comes more than a month after the flag carrier warned of weaker demand from Mainland China, even as system-wide capacity recovers close to pre-pandemic levels. Separately, Korean Air will also add two additional flights a week to the Mongolian capital of UIaanbaatar between 1 June and 30 September. As for its Japan network, the carrier will resume seasonal operations between Jeju and Tokyo Narita between 19 July and 25 October. <br/>