[Courtesy of Asiana Airlines]
SEOUL -- South Korea's second-largest carrier, Asiana Airlines, decided to suspend flights between the southern port city of Busan and the Okinawa Islands as the number of travelers to Japan saw a sharp decrease because of a boycott campaign caused by a trade war that has affected broad exchanges between the two neighboring countries.
Asiana said Wednesday that it would shut down the Busan-Okinawa route from August 23. The airline has deployed 160-seat A320 jets with three weekly flights on the route. In late July, Asiana said it would cut back on the supply of seats starting in mid-September on the routes between Seoul and Japanese destinations by replacing A330 with smaller planes.
A trade dispute between Seoul and Tokyo has forced South Korean airlines to suspend services or cut the number of flights on some Japanese routes. Korean Air Lines plans to suspend its Busan-Sapporo route in September or reduce the supply of seats on other routes.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
