After a Suspension for 2 Years and 3 Months
Flights on the Gimpo-Haneda route will be resumed after a suspension for two years and three months due to COVID-19.
On June 22, the Korean government reached an agreement with its Japanese counterpart to operate flights eight times a week between Gimpo Airport in Seoul, Korea and Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, starting on June 29. The two governments plan to gradually increase the number of flights beginning from July in consideration of growing demand and airliners’ preparations.
Before being suspended in March 2020, the Gimpo-Haneda route had been highly lucrative for airlines, with the occupancy rate reaching 98 percent in the peak season due to easy access from the airports to the capitals of both countries. In 2019, the number of regular flights between Gimpo and Haneda totaled 84 per week.
With the reopening of the route, Korean Air will put the B737 into operation every Wednesday and Saturday and Asiana Airline will use the A321 or the A330 on every Wednesday and Saturday. Japan Airlines will operate the B767 or the B787 on every Thursday and Sunday, and All Nippon Airways will fly the B787 on every Monday and Friday.
However, a visa-free entry between Korea and Japan has not yet been resumed. If a passenger wants to tour the two countries using the Gimpo-Haneda route, he or she must either obtain a short-term tourist visa from the Korean government or use a group tour with a tour guide, which is accepted by the Japanese government.