Scotland’s only direct service from South Korea will return to Glasgow Airport this summer with an additional 25% capacity.
Flag carrier Korean Air and tour operator Hanjin Travel have announced the return of the service following last year’s landmark decision to operate three inbound charter flights to Glasgow from the country’s capital Seoul.
The addition of a fourth flight to this year’s inbound-only charter service further strengthens Glasgow’s reputation as the country’s leading long-haul hub and will see the airport once again become a gateway to Scotland for more than 1,300 South Korean tourists during July and August.
Steven Marshall, head of airline marketing and development at Glasgow Airport, said: “We are extremely pleased Korean Air and its sister company Hanjin Travel have not only chosen to re-introduce these summer charter services, but have also decided to increase capacity by a very encouraging 25 per cent due to demand.
“Their decision is a significant one and again underlines Scotland’s global appeal as a tourist destination and highlights the growth in demand we are experiencing from Asian tourist markets.
“We are looking forward to welcoming back Korean Air and Hanjin Travel and to working with them once again to develop this charter programme further.”
Hanjin Travel is one of South Korea’s largest travel companies and has played a major role in developing the country’s tourism industry. In recent years, it has been extending its European route network with the launch of similar charter services to Oslo and Marseille.
Operated by Korean Air using an Airbus A330 aircraft, the first service from Seoul will arrive in Glasgow on Wednesday 26 July with the remaining three flights arriving throughout August.
Mr In Chai Park, President of Hanjin Travel, said: “As one of South Korea’s leading travel companies we are extremely pleased to be returning to Scotland this summer for the second year in a row and look forward to visiting Glasgow once again.
“We received very positive feedback from our passengers who travelled last year. They really enjoyed visiting Scotland and were very happy with the warm welcome they received from the airport and the people of Glasgow.
“This was a major factor in our decision to not only return this year, but to also increase capacity on the charter service by 25%.
“Glasgow’s excellent shopping and wonderful architecture, alongside the world-renowned scenery of Scotland, are proving very popular with our travellers.”
Councillor Frank McAveety, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “Securing South Korea’s national air carrier and Scotland’s first direct flight from Seoul was a momentous achievement for Glasgow and today’s announcement that the service will resume with increased capacity in 2017 is a fantastic start to the year for the city and our airport.
“This decision further strengthens Glasgow’s reputation as Scotland’s visitor gateway and reinforces our commitment to growing the city’s global connectivity and forging tourism links with emerging markets. It also supports the ambition of our newly launched Tourism and Visitor Plan to 2023, which aims to attract one million more tourists over the next seven years.
“Glasgow is looking forward to again working with Korean Air and Hanjin Travel to deliver a programme of cooperative destination marketing activity ahead of the service resuming this summer.”