Shanghai routes are set to expand beyond Korea's Incheon and Gimpo hubs to regional airports. As Korea Airports Corp. establishes a cooperation framework with China's Shanghai Airport Group and lays the groundwork for new and expanded services, expectations are growing for attracting regional tourists and broadening economic exchange.
Korea Airports Corp. said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Shanghai Airport Group on Tuesday at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport to expand routes connecting regional airports with Shanghai. The move aims to strengthen the international competitiveness of regional airports, as traffic rights between the two countries expand and air demand recovers following the Korea-China summit in January this year.
Shanghai Airport Group is one of China's largest airport operators, running Hongqiao Airport and Pudong International Airport. The two airports handle about 130 million passengers a year and connect to approximately 290 routes across 49 countries worldwide.
The two sides agreed to cooperate on securing slots and expanding traffic rights to broaden the air network linking regional airports with Shanghai. Currently, Shanghai routes are concentrated at metropolitan-area airports such as Incheon and Gimpo, making it difficult for regional airports to launch new services or add flights. In particular, a shortage of slots at Shanghai's airports has been cited as a key obstacle to expanding regional routes.
From January to May this year, the Incheon-Pudong route carried about 1.018 million passengers and the Gimpo-Hongqiao route about 270,000, accounting for 64.4% of the roughly 2 million total passengers on Korea-Shanghai routes.
By contrast, demand for Shanghai routes at regional airports is rising rapidly. Passengers traveling to and from Shanghai through Gimpo, Gimhae, Jeju, and Cheongju airports grew about 2.4-fold, from 920,000 in 2023 to 2.2 million last year. During this year's summer season, the Gimhae-Pudong route was increased from 16 to 18 flights a week and the Jeju-Pudong route from 56 to 58 flights a week, while the Cheongju-Pudong route was newly launched.
Under the agreement, the two organizations plan to support the actual launch of 23 weekly Shanghai flights secured under the April allocation of regional airport traffic rights. These cover eight weekly flights from Gimhae, seven from Daegu, five from Cheongju, and three from Yangyang. The two sides agreed to cooperate on securing slots at each airport while also exploring ways to obtain additional traffic rights going forward.
They will also pursue joint marketing to attract more passengers. A plan to provide Shanghai route passengers with gift certificates usable in Korean regions is under review, and a program linking regional economic revitalization with increased tourist inflows is to be prepared. Over the medium to long term, they will pursue a plan for Shanghai's airports to cooperate with Korean local governments to operate regional tourism promotion weeks.
Cooperation in airport operations will also expand. The two organizations agreed to enhance passenger services such as duty-free shops and lounges, and to strengthen cooperation in smart airport technology fields including artificial intelligence (AI) and building information modeling (BIM).
Zhou Hao, president of Shanghai Airport Group, said, "Among inbound passengers to Shanghai, Korean travelers account for the largest share." He added, "We are currently connected to five regional airports, including Cheongju and Daegu, and we hope to add routes that can improve connectivity with more Korean cities in the future."
Park Jae-hee, acting president of Korea Airports Corp., said, "Expanding routes between regional airports and Shanghai's airports is a necessary task for revitalizing regional tourism." He added, "Through cooperation between the two companies, we expect the expansion of traffic rights and slot allocation to proceed smoothly."
Korea Airports Corp. expects the agreement to strengthen its network with Shanghai's airports and expand personnel and working-level exchanges. It also anticipated that improved conditions for new and expanded services at regional airports would help draw more foreign tourists to the regions and boost local economies.
"Shanghai is a leading aviation market in Northeast Asia, and a place where regional airports have enormous growth potential," the acting president said. "Building on our cooperation with Shanghai Airport Group, we will expand regional airport-Shanghai routes and contribute to revitalizing regional tourism and broadening Korea-China exchange."
