South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) on 24 April awarded traffic rights on 35 international routes—most of them to China—to 11 domestic airlines, including several low-cost carriers. The move will open or increase services from regional airports such as Busan, Daegu, Cheongju and Yangyang to 18 Chinese destinations ranging from Guangzhou and Chengdu to Guilin and Huangshan. Passenger demand between the two countries has rebounded to 4.39 million in Q1 2026, already surpassing pre-pandemic levels. Officials say diversifying beyond the traditional Beijing and Shanghai gateways will spread tourism revenue to Korea’s provincial economies and create fare competition by bringing budget carriers onto trunk routes long dominated by flag-carriers. For Chinese firms, the additional capacity offers quicker access to Korean semiconductor clusters in Daegu-Gyeongbuk, automotive suppliers around Busan and MRO facilities in Cheongju. Mobility teams should monitor fare volatility as LCC entry can compress premium-cabin inventory even on full-service airlines. The rights package also green-lights new Korean services to Ningbo and Wuxi—cities with heavy Korean corporate footprints—and increases Incheon-Shenzhen frequencies from 14 to 18 per week. Launch dates depend on slot approval but carriers have 12 months to activate the routes. Travel managers moving staff between Korean and Chinese plants should revisit travel-policy rate caps and ensure travellers are aware that some secondary airports lack on-arrival visa facilities; appropriate visas must be secured before departure.
![South Korea allocates 35 new traffic rights, boosting regional flights to 18 Chinese cities]()
For organizations needing a streamlined way to obtain Chinese travel documents ahead of these new flights, VisaHQ offers an end-to-end visa processing service that handles application forms, appointment scheduling and document checks for both individual travellers and corporate travel departments. Their China visa portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) provides real-time status updates and expert guidance, helping employees depart from Korea’s regional airports with the correct paperwork in hand.
For organizations needing a streamlined way to obtain Chinese travel documents ahead of these new flights, VisaHQ offers an end-to-end visa processing service that handles application forms, appointment scheduling and document checks for both individual travellers and corporate travel departments. Their China visa portal (https://www.visahq.com/china/) provides real-time status updates and expert guidance, helping employees depart from Korea’s regional airports with the correct paperwork in hand.
