South Korea and the Philippines have agreed to expand international flight services between the two countries by an additional 10,000 seats.
South Korea and the Philippines have agreed to expand international flight services between the two countries by an additional 10,000 seats.
Following a two-day air services consultation between Philippine and South Korean transport officials held in Manila on July 3-4, both countries have signed a Memorandum of Understand (MoU) with the aim to liberalize travel between South Korea's regional cities and Manila.
The new MoU replaces a previous agreement signed between the two countries in 2017.
Between Manila and Seoul-Incheon, both countries have agreed to increase the flight capacity cap on the route from the current 20,000 to 30,000 seats weekly.
While the capacity limit will be imposed on the Manila-Incheon route, there will be no limits on flights between Manila and other points in South Korea.
Additionally, flights from all points outside Manila to anywhere in South Korea remain unrestricted.
In a statement, Kim Young-guk, the Director General of South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) said: “Until now, flights between (Korean secondary cities) and Manila have little service due to limited traffic rights. We hope that the secondary city airports will be revitalised (with the liberalisation) and the convenience of travel be improved.”
The move is aimed to boost travel and tourism between both South Korea and the Philippines. The Philippine Department of Tourism reported the Philippines welcomed over 682,000 visitors from South Korea since the start of the year.
“The increase in capacity will be felt by the market once airlines take advantage of the opportunity to carry more passenger traffic between the capital cities of the two countries,” the Philippine Department of Transportation (DOTr) said in its statement.
While not included in the new agreement, the DOTr added it did propose an amendment to the two countries' air transport agreement to allow the Philippines to designate its airlines on the basis of the airline having its principal place of business and place of incorporation in the Philippines. Both countries also considered South Korea's proposal to allow third country code-sharing arrangements. The DOTr concluded its statement saying both countries have agreed to continue discussions on the proposals during the next round of consultations.
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