This headline caught my eye, but my excitement waned with the details. Long ago, there were flights between Kumamoto Airport and Seoul, which then connected to anywhere in the world. Not anymore. This article notes that Asiana Airlines’ subsidiary Seoul Air (an LCC - low-cost carrier) will begin charter flights between Seoul and Kumamoto starting from April. Cool!, I thought - a more convenient way to get to Seoul!
Detail devils: These are charter flights, so you’re likely not welcome. Their main purpose is to bring golfers from Korea to enjoy the lush Kumamoto fairways. 60 flights are scheduled between April and October, which, if you do the math, indicates that a surprisingly large number of Korean golfers long to putt in Kumamoto.
These international flights will add to the Gaoxiong, Taiwan charter flights; flights to Hong Kong, discontinued since the quakes, have remained so. I hope that at some point regular passenger service between Kumamoto and Seoul will resume.