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| Singapore Airlines has reduced the number of flights to Korea following the outbreak of the new coronavirus. / Korea Times file |
By Jun Ji-hye
An increasing number of foreign air carriers are either halting flights or reducing the number of flights to Korea as the country has continued to report a surge in cases of COVID-19 from last week, airline industry officials said Monday.
Philippine Airlines informed passengers, Feb. 21, of the suspension of its Manila-Incheon route and a reduction in the number of flights on the Manila-Busan route from March 1 to 31 "due to operational issues".
The company said passengers can rebook their flights or change the route without incurring fees, or receive a full refund without any additional fee.
Prior to this, the company announced, Feb. 11 that it would cancel flights on its Cebu-Incheon route from Feb. 16 to March 28.
Singapore Airlines announced Feb. 18 that it had temporarily reduced services across its networks, including flights to Korea, due to weak demand as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Affected services included its flights to Busan and Seoul ― the company canceled flights from Singapore to Busan scheduled for Feb. 26, March 2 and March 6, while canceling most flights to Incheon in February and March.
"We will continue to monitor the situation and make further adjustments as necessary," a Singapore Airlines official said.
Vietnam Airlines has also announced the cancelation of flights to Incheon from Hanoi, Nha Trang and Da Nang until March 29. The cities are popular travel destinations for Korean tourists.
As most COVID-19 infections here are centered in Daegu and the adjacent North Gyeongsang Province, domestic air carriers have suspended flights to the region.
Korean Air, the nation's top flag carrier, decided to suspend its Daegu-Jeju and Daegu-Incheon routes from Tuesday to March 28.
Asiana Airlines, the second-largest air carrier, will also suspend its Daegu-Jeju route from Tuesday to March 9.
Low-cost carriers are joining the move ― Jeju Air and Air Busan already temporarily suspended their Daegu-Jeju flights from Monday.
The government has designated Daegu and Cheongdo on North Gyeongsang Province as "special care zones" as the region has emerged as a hotbed for the coronavirus outbreak.
