Korean Air resumes flights to Tianjin

Korean Air Lines Co. will resume flights to Tianjin, northeast China, Tuesday after five months of suspension due to the pandemic.

The flights between Incheon and Tianjin will run every two weeks on Tuesdays in July and August and weekly beginning September.

With the resumption, Korean Air will be operating three routes connecting to Chinese cities, including Guangzhou and Shenyang.

Korean Air was hoping to double its weekly flights to Shenyang but failed to get approval from local authorities.

It, therefore, shifted to resuming the Tianjin flights.

To help balance passenger traffic loss during the pandemic, Korean Air shifted its efforts to cargo business, which moved it back to profitability.

According to Hanwha Investment & Securities analyst Kim Yoo-hyuk, Korean Air is expected to report a 149 billion won net profit in the second quarter.

The carrier absorbed a 736.86-billion-won net loss in the first quarter.