Air Busan flights until end of March

Air Busan remains deeply interested in maintaining its Busan-Saipan route and has, in fact, added seven more flights that will run until the end of March.

According to Marianas Visitors Authority acting managing director Judy Torres, Air Busan has confirmed an additional seven flights from Busan to Saipan as of last week, with the first flight last Sunday.

Air Busan concluded its charter flight service back in February but has decided to continue its Busan-Saipan route.

Torres said the CNMI could expect an increase in the number of flights from Busan as South Korea inches closer its summer season.

“There are additional flights being considered or prepared, but it would be premature to announce confirmation at this time. Overall, we anticipate a continued increase in the number of weekly flights through the summer months and hopefully beyond,” she said.

Air Busan’s next flight is set for March 13 and will continue through March 16, 20, 23, 27, and 30.

Meanwhile, Jeju Air has also confirmed that it be providing air service from Busan to Saipan from March 30 to Oct. 29 every Wednesday and Thursday.

In addition, Jeju Air, Asiana Airlines, and T’way Air will be providing air service between Incheon and Saipan until the end of March.

The added flights are to accommodate the extended Tourism Resumption Investment Plan that is expected to bring in thousands of South Korean tourist to the CNMI by the end of the fiscal year.

Last week, Torres said with the extension of TRIP, MVA has decided to cease incentives like Travel Bucks as visitors from Korea are being increasingly self-motivated to travel. However, the CNMI will still be providing free PCR tests for visitors returning to Korea.

Since the program’s inception in July 2021, Torres said the CNMI has seen a slow but gradual increase in the number of visitors under the TRIP program, so they have systematically been adjusting the incentives. Overall, MVA believes that this is a testament to the success of the TRIP program.

“We can say our plan to use TRIP to jumpstart the Marianas tourism economy has been a success. However, travel worldwide remains low, so we still have a long way to recovery, including the reboot of other source markets. MVA continues to support and collaborate with our airlines, travel agents, and other stakeholders for a sustainable and safe recovery,” she said.