The ongoing Seoul-Tokyo trade spat is affecting the aviation industry now,... with South Korea's biggest air carrier having to cut one of its flight routes to Japan due to falling demand.
Choi Si-young has more.
Korean Air will suspend flights between the southeastern city of Busan and Sapporo from early September.
A company spokesperson said Monday that the suspension will take effect on September 3rd.
There's no set date for when or whether the route will be restarted.
Korean Air is also considering slashing its number of flight routes to Japan or switching to smaller aircraft from mid-August.
South Korea's low-cost carriers have already suspended or reduced the number of their flights between South Korean cities and less popular destinations in Japan, such as Narita,... but this is the first time the country's flagship carrier has suspended flights to Japan.
Last week, local low-cost carrier T'way Air stopped its flight service between Muan and Oita.
Other local budget carrier, Air Busan, will stop flights between Daegu and Osaka from September, while Eastar Jet is suspending flights between Busan and Osaka around the same time.
Industry insiders say that, while the carriers were planning to cut down on some flights to Japan anyway because they were not proving profitable, the airlines are also actively taking into account the boycott of Japanese products by South Koreans.
Choi Si-young, Arirang News.
