Changi Airport Group forms six-party partnership with South Korean firms

Traffic rights will be given to three airlines to operate on the Singapore–Busan route.

Changi Airport Group has partnered with Busan Metropolitan City (BMC), Korea Airports Corporation (KAC), Eastar Jet, Jeju Air and SilkAir through a six-party memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly promote trade, business and tourism flows between Singapore and Busan, an announcement revealed.

The one-year partnership follows the allocation of traffic rights to South Korean airlines Eastar Jet and Jeju Air, as well as SilkAir, to operate flights on the Singapore–Busan route. SilkAir’s four weekly services to Busan started on 1 May, whilst Jeju Air will commence its service to Singapore on 4 July. Eastar Jet is expected to do so in the coming months.

The six-party collaboration aims to strengthen air connectivity between Singapore and Busan. In the coming year, residents and travellers from both cities can expect various on-ground events, such as roadshows, travel fairs and campaigns, as CAG, KAC and BMC work closely to provide support for the three airlines to grow and sustain the Singapore–Busan route, Changi Airport group highlighted.

According to Son Changwan, president and CEO of KAC, the Busan–Singapore route will promote tourism in both cities and improve travel convenience for residents in Busan and Singapore.

South Korea ranked 13th amongst Changi Airport’s top passenger markets. In 2018, 1.46 million passenger movements were registered between Changi (SIN) and Incheon (ICN) airports. From 2013 to 2018, the five-year compounded annual growth rate for passenger traffic on this route was 5.4%.