Korean Air, Asiana halt Phuket route

Korean Air, Asiana halt Phuket route

SEOUL: Korean Air Lines Co. and Asiana Airlines Inc. will halt flights to the Thai resort island of Phuket for a month after tidal waves lashed the country's southwest coast, killing more than 1,000 people and destroying hotels.

Korean Air, the country's largest carrier, will halt all six weekly flights to Phuket starting Thursday, spokesman Hong Seogki said today. Asiana will halt its twice-weekly service to Phuket starting tomorrow, spokesman Kim Hyung Jin said. The Seoul-based airlines will both continue services to Bangkok.

"Because of the uncertainty right now over there, we will suspend flights," Hong said.

In the first 11 months of the year, 681,265 South Koreans visited Thailand, 34 percent more than a year earlier, according to the Korea National Tourism Organization. That's about 8 percent of South Koreans traveling abroad in the period. --Bloomberg