S.Korea, Kazakhstan agree to expand air transport rights

South Korea and Kazakhstan have agreed to expand air transport rights during the South Korea and Kazakhstan aviation talks held in Almaty, Kazakhstan on Mar.20-21, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) announced on Friday.

Air transport rights are the rights granted by each country's government to its airlines to operate flights.

The number of air transport rights is determined through intergovernmental agreements.

Under this agreement, the form of passenger transport rights has been changed from the existing seat-based system to a flight frequency-based system.

This change shifts the focus from limiting the total number of seats that airlines can offer per week to setting the maximum number of flights that airlines can operate per week, regardless of the aircraft type.

The ministry expects this change to improve the efficiency of aircraft operations.

At the same time, the two countries changed passenger transport rights, which had been limited to 1,450 seats per week, to a maximum of 21 flights per week.

The Incheon-Almaty route can be operated up to 7 times a week, and all other routes can be operated up to 14 times a week.

Additionally, cargo transport rights for 20 flights per week were newly established between the two countries.

Furthermore, due to this agreement, the limitations on the number of destinations within the opposing country and the number of airlines (two each) that can operate were also abolished.

Write to Jin-Won Kim at jin1@hankyung.com