Korean Air to Increase Niigata-Seoul Flights to Daily Service Starting on June 1

The Yomiuri Shimbun
A Korean Air plane lands at Niigata Airport in December 2025.

Korean Air announced Tuesday that it will increase direct flights between Niigata and Seoul from three flights per week to daily service starting on June 1.

After the COVID-19 pandemic eased, the number of passengers using the route has been increasing and Korean Air expects demand to grow further.

The number of flights on the route, which started in 1979, have repeatedly increased and decreased depending on the state of Japan-South Korea relations. This will be the first time for there to be daily service of the route since December 2014.

According to the Niigata prefectural government, the total number of passengers on the route in fiscal 2024 was 37,521. This was the highest amount among the other primary international routes, which are the Shanghai, Harbin and Taipei routes, to and from Niigata.