New service to link Glasgow and South Korea

Asian carrier Korean Air is to trial the first-ever direct service between Glasgow and Seoul with three flights in August 2016.

The airline will operate three return services between Glasgow and the South Korean capital with a view to introducing further flights in 2017.

The charter service, operated by Korean Air and sister company Hanjin Travel, will be operated using the Airbus A330 and fly for three consecutive weeks with departures on 5, 12 and 19 August.

The introduction of the route highlights the increase in passenger numbers for both airports, and increases the existing direct flight access served by 88 airlines from 183 cities.

Incheon International Airport, the largest airport in South Korea, recorded an increase in passenger numbers for 2015 – with a total of 49.3 million people landing in Korea. The vast majority were international passengers, making up 48.7 million of the final figure.

In recent years, the airline has been extending its European route network with the launch of similar charter services to Oslo and Marseille. The backer, Hanjin Travel, confirms it has launched this short Glasgow service to test the market with a view to introducing further flights in 2017.

Korean Air already provides a scheduled daily link between Incheon and London Heathrow and will add London Gatwick in summer 2016 by deploying the A380 on this route for the first time. British Airways and South Korean carrier Asiana Airlines also offer a daily schedule on the Incheon – Heathrow market; together all three carriers offer around 310,000 annual seats in each direction.