Shanghai Pudong International Airport Photo: VCG

The Global Times has learned from relevant authorities that the decision to cancel flights between South Korea and China was made by South Korea after it had placed new restrictions on travelers from China but found it is unable to operate some flights. There are currently around 60 international passenger flights between China and South Korea each week.

Due to the additional restrictive measures taken by South Korea including entry testing for Chinese passengers, several South Korean airports have been forced to invest in extra staff and material resources and arrange special screening areas. As a result, a number of small- and medium-sized airports in the South Korea are unable to handle flights from China, relevant authorities confirmed. 

It was on this basis that South Korea has canceled flights between the two countries departing from Busan, Jeju and Daegu, operated by domestic airlines, in addition to a small number of flights from Incheon.

After China downgraded its COVID-19 management from Class A to Class B, the number of tourists from South Korea has increased rapidly, with a large number of tourists from the US and Canada arriving in China on flights transiting through South Korea.

The decline in flight availability and sudden increase in demand has been cited as the reason behind a recent spike in airfares between the two neighboring countries.