Local Airlines to Halt Service to Phuket

The nation¡¯s two flag carriers, Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, will suspend their operations to Phuket, Thailand, next week.

The Construction and Transportation Ministry said yesterday that the airlines applied for closures of operations to the resort island due to a decrease in the number of passengers, and the applications were admitted.

Korean Air will scrap its Seoul-Phuket route on June 29, and the Pusan-Phuket route on June 30. Asiana Airlines will also stop operating its flights between Seoul and Phuket on June 28.

The decision to stop the operations came from a decline in the number of passengers to Phuket, especially honeymooners, as people still feel reluctant to visit the island, which was hit by a deadly tsunami.

The tsunami, which struck Southeast Asian countries last December, claimed 5,400 lives, mainly those in southern Thailand including Phuket, and some 2,800 are still missing.

The two airlines began operating charter flights between Seoul and Phuket in 2002. Asiana Airlines started two regular flights per week for the route last July, while Korean Air also launch two weekly services last September.

Korean Air also provided service between Pusan and Phuket since last October.

The route had been popular, especially among newlyweds, with boarding rate on Seoul-Phuket flights reaching 98 percent in July 2004, 99 percent in August, 97 percent in September, 94 percent in October, 92 percent in November, and 76 percent last December.

But the two carriers had suspended operations since the end of last year after the giant wave from the earthquake brought catastrophe to large areas of the tourist destination.

Those planning to travel to Phuket will be able to use the flights of Orient Thai Airlines, which operates two weekly services between Seoul and Phuket. Phuket Air will also start operating two flights per week on July 16.

Korean Air plans to resume its operations on Oct. 2 and Asiana Airlines in the middle of December.

Source: Kim Rahn - koreatimes.co.kr