Asiana Airlines resumes Incheon-Changsha flights after 3 years

After a hiatus of over three years due to the impact of COVID-19, the flight route between Incheon, South Korea, and Changsha, Hunan, China, has resumed. The aviation and travel industry is expecting a revival of the tourism market as the Incheon-Changsha route, which is popular among tourists, has reopened.

According to Asiana Airlines on Tuesday, an Asiana A330-300 passenger plane (OZ321) took off from Incheon Airport on the previous day at 9:38 pm and arrived at Changsha Huanghua International Airport about three hours later.

The aircraft, with a capacity of 298 seats, carried 199 passengers, recording an occupancy rate of about 67%. Asiana Airlines resumed operating the Incheon-Changsha route after a hiatus of 3 years and 2 months since Feb. 2020, when the domestic outbreak of COVID-19 began in earnest.

Asiana Airlines is the first South Korean airline to resume the route after the COVID-19 outbreak.

A package tour team heading to Zhangjiajie, a famous tourist attraction in Hunan Province that boasts peculiar rocks, also boarded the flight the previous day.

Many tourists heading to Zhangjiajie often take the bus from Changsha Airport, and the Incheon-Changsha route is often referred to as a "tourist route" in the travel industry.

"We expect the demand for travel to China to increase from next month due to smooth visa issuance and expanded flight schedules," said a Hana Tour official, adding, "We plan to resume selling travel products throughout China, including Baekdu Mountain, Jiuzhai Valley and Hainan Island from this summer."

Write to Mi-Sun Kang at misunny@hankyung.com