From Korea To China, India To Iceland

On Friday, June 16 -- following a week of talks -- the Korean Ministry of Construction and Transportation announced a doubling in the number of flights between China and South Korea.

"China is an important air market to Korea, considering its big population and rapid economic growth. The agreement is expected to greatly increase exchanges between the two nations and offer convenience to travelers," a ministry official was quoted in The Korea Times.

As a first step, the two countries will immediately liberalize air operations between China's Shandong province and the whole of Korea, enabling Korean airlines to operate as many flights as they want in the region. Some 10,000 Korean companies, including subsidiaries of Samsung and LG, do business in Shandong.

Only 10 new routes will be added from Korea to other Chinese regions at first, but officials from Seoul and Beijing have agreed to hold similar talks every year to further open up Chinese commercial airspace to Korean passengers and cargo.

On the same day, India's Ministry of Civil Aviation announced it had struck an "air services agreement" with the Republic of Iceland. Both countries will retain the right to designate as many airlines as they wish for travel to the other, but each will retain the right to revoke flight privileges for specific carriers if conditions of the agreement are not met.

What exactly are those conditions? ANN's preliminary read on the details of the India-Iceland agreement likely lost a bit in translation.

According to the India ministry's press release, "the designated airlines of Iceland shall be able to fly from any point in Iceland to any two points in India via any two intermediate points and to any two Beyond points. [And vice versa.] The designated airlines of each country may at their option omit points on any of the above routes."

Got it? Just don't stray into Korean, or Chinese, airspace...

FMI: Korea Ministry of Construction and Transportation, India Ministry of Civil Aviation