S. Korean airline starts Clark-Busan service

SOUTH Korea’s Jin Air is launching flights between Clark International Airport in Pampanga, Philippines and Busan, a move that would bolster traffic at Luzon’s second-busiest air gateway while luring more Korean tourists.

The Clark International Airport Corp. said in a statement that the Clark-Busan flights will start on July 27, 2015 and will run until Aug. 24, 2015. The flights will resume in November 2015, or the beginning of the peak season.

CIAC said the Jin Air Clark-Busan service would arrive at 1 a.m. and depart at 2 a.m. four times a week.

“We are pleased to welcome the Clark-Busan flight and we also would like to express gratitude to the Jin Air management for expanding their operations at Clark International Airport,” CIAC president and CEO Emigdio Tanjuatco III said.

Earlier this year, Jin Air increased its Incheon, South Korea service to Clark from four flights a week to daily.

“The Clark-Busan flight will further attract more Korean tourists to visit Clark as well as to utilize Clark airport for their flights,” Jong Pil Choi, president of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Central Luzon, said in the same statement.

Busan, or officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea’s second largest city after Seoul with a population of approximately 3.6 million. Busan was the host city of the 2002 Asian Games and Apec 2005 Korea.

Choi said there were about 20,000 Koreans residing in Central Luzon and about 50,000 Korean nationals in the Northern Philippines that would benefit from Jin Air’s additional route at the Clark airport.

Clark International Airport Corp. has struggled to lure passenger traffic in recent years, partly due to its distance from Metro Manila. Nevertheless, the gateway expects passenger growth to continue as it focuses marking efforts in other parts of Luzon.

Recently, it announced the auction of the initial phase of the P7.2-billion low cost carrier Passenger Terminal Building. Miguel R. Camus