Japanese carrier to drop S. Korea flights amid row

Tokyo, Aug 30 (IANS) Japan's budget carrier Peach Aviation Ltd. said on Friday that due to a lack of demand from South Korea it will suspend or reduce connecting flights, becoming the first Japanese airline to respond to rising tensions between the two countries by cutting services.

Peach Aviation said it will indefinitely stop services between New Chitose airport in Hokkaido and Incheon near Seoul from October 28 and Kansai-Busan flights from January 7 due to a lack of demand from South Korea, Kyodo News agency reported.

The New Chitose-Incheon flight was only launched on April 25.

Between January 28 and February 22, 2020, flights between Naha in Okinawa and Incheon will be temporarily suspended, the low-cost carrier said.

Eight South Korean carriers including Korean Air Lines Co., Asiana Airlines Inc. and Air Seoul Inc., an LCC, have already announced flight suspensions or reduced services to Japan after a fall in the number of South Koreans making the trip.

"We've taken the decision after holistically judging the situation, including the deteriorating South Korean economy and depreciation of the won," a Peach Aviation official said.

Between November 11 and December 8, flights between Kansai and Incheon will be cut to three round-trips per day from four, although Peach Aviation said there will be no changes to flights between Haneda and Incheon.

The move by Peace Aviation, a subsidiary of ANA Holdings Inc., comes as bilateral ties between Japan and South Korea have become increasingly strained due to a wartime labour dispute that has spilled over into a tit-for-tat trade spat.