S Korea tourism troubled by CAAC denials
A decision by China's civil aviation authority to deny charter flights to South Korea, which are usually employed to carry large groups of Chinese tourists, has raised concerns in South Korea's tourism industry.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) on December 30 denied unscheduled charter flights on eight different routes to South Korea during January and February in 2017, domestic news portal chinaqw.com reported on January 1, citing travel agents in Beijing.
The suspended routes include one from Guilin, South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to Jeju via Jin Air and six routes from Jeju Air.
Asiana Airlines confirmed to the Global Times on Thursday that charter flights from Ningbo, East China's -Jiangsu Province, to Inchon on January 25 and January 28 were denied.
The flight is flying on an A321 with 177 seats. The carrier flies 34 routes to 24 cities in China.
Three South Korean airlines submitted applications for flights on December 20, as is customary, but all were denied. Making the situation awkward is that CAAC also denied regularly scheduled flights to South Korea.
The CAAC's decision has created an unprecedented situation for the airlines and travel agencies: They cannot send Chinese tourists to South Korea during the Spring Festival holidays, one of the busiest travel seasons in China.
Chinese travel agencies have not received any formal notice from the authority concerning South Korea-bound charter flights, but the alleged rejection of the applications will not impact the tourism sector, said Xu Xiaolei, manager of marketing at China CYTS Tours Holding Co.
"The current number of passenger flights between China and South Korea can surely meet the added demand," Xu told the Global Times on Wednesday.
The CAAC could not be reached for comment by press time on Thursday.
And it remains unclear how long the authority will continue to deny charter flights to South Korea, as the administration has held off on making decisions about flights for March and April, according to the report, citing unnamed travel agents.
South Korean Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho said on Monday that he would look into whether the CAAC's decision had anything to do with the planned deployment of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) -system in the country, Reuters reported.
Yoo said there have been "several suspected cases of non-tariff barriers" after South Korea's decision in 2016 to deploy the US missile defense system, Reuters reported.
However, the alleged rejection cannot only be interpreted as a "revenge" for a political dispute because China worries that the THAAD's powerful radar can penetrate its territory, the manager from China CYTS Tours Holding Co said.
"Their applications were rejected simply because their aircraft do not meet CAAC standards," he noted.
The Global Times reached out to other two travel agencies in China on Thursday morning - CAISSA Travel Management Co and Ctrip. The latter said it would not respond to the issue. The former didn't respond as of press time on Thursday.
That fact has worried many government officials and business owners in South Korea.
The South Korean Embassy in -Beijing has reportedly reached out to the CAAC for an explanation. A "relevant person" at the embassy called such decision "unprecedented," the chinaqw.com report said.
China opposes to the deployment of the THAAD system, saying it is not conducive to regional peace and stability.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China said China still holds a positive and open attitude toward bilateral trade and culture exchange between China and South Korea, but such cooperation and exchanges need to be based on public opinion.
The number of Chinese visitors to South Korea has risen dramatically in recent years. In 2016, it jumped nearly 40 percent year-on-year to a record high, according to a report on jiemian.com. Chinese visitors account for 48 percent of total foreign tourists to South Korea.
