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Both agree on gradual opening of aviation market
South Korea and China have agreed to a gradual liberalization of commercial air transportation between the two countries. The move is expected to boost transportation sector revenue in both. The Ministry of Construction and Transportation said on June 16 that the two countries agreed to immediately liberalize air operations between China’s Shandong province and all of South Korea during aviation talks held in Weihai, China, on June 14-16. In addition, free-fly zones over China will be expanded, and 10 new commercial routes will be added, including a Seoul-Dalian route, which will result in 80 new flights per week. The number of commercial flights on the existing 33 routes will see an increase of 117 flights a week. Cargo flights will also be increased from 24 each week to 36.With Korea-China exchange significantly expanding significantly in many markets, the total number of passenger and cargo flights will be increased to 874 a week, surpassing flights between Japan, which number 592, making South Korea China’s biggest aviation market. China’s Shandong province, which agreed to the liberalization of the air transportation market, has a population of 95 million, two times that of South Korea. Nearly 10,000 domestic companies, such as Samsung and LG, are currently doing business in Shandong. Accordingly, air transportation between the two countries, which has traditionally expanded more than 22 percent annually, will see an even steeper rate of growth. The number of air passengers between South Korea and China has steadily increased, from about 3 million in 2001 to 4 million in 2002, 5.2 million in 2004 and 6.6 million in 2005.
