Korean Air to Launch Scenic Flights to Japan

Korean Air joins the increasing number of carriers operating scenic non-landing “flights to nowhere”. The airline plans to begin operating international sightseeing flights over neighbouring Japan from February 27.

Demand for scenic flights has increased in recent months, and such flights were approved for domestic routes last October, and for international routes in November. Korean Air is the first airline to take advantage of this and operate international scenic flights. Capacity will be limited in order to observe social distancing guidelines, which require empty seats between passengers. Strict preventative measures will be in force at Incheon International Airport, and masks will be mandatory at all times. The flights will be limited to local residents only, and inflight duty-free shopping will be limited to pre-booked items.

Despite these restrictions and uncertainty about profitability, the Korean government has received applications for international scenic flights from five other domestic airlines – Asiana, Jeju Air, Jin Air, T’way Airlines and Air Busan.