Korea’s T’Way puts Croatia flight plans on hold due to Ukraine war

Korean low cost carrier T’Way Air, which has been granted traffic rights between South Korea and Croatia, has said plans to serve Zagreb have been put on hold due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. South Korean carriers are not permitted to fly into Russian airspace, which significantly increases operating costs on flights to and from Europe. The airline, which boasts three Airbus A330-300 aircraft for medium- and long-haul flights, as well as an extensive short-haul network, has said it is “difficult to say” when services to Croatia could launch. “We originally said that we would review flights to Croatia in June or July, but it is difficult to take a position in the current situation where it is impossible to pass through Russian airspace”, the airline noted. Following the start of its long-haul expansion last year, T’Way Air registered an operational profit and now counts a fleet of 29 aircraft.

Korean Air discontinued its seasonal flights between Seoul and Zagreb at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The carrier has since restored its entire European network and added a new service to Budapest and Oslo. In late September and early October, it will operate a total of four charter flights on behalf of Korean tour operator Hanatour to the Croatian capital over the Chuseok holiday period, more commonly known as the mid-Autumn festival, which is one of South Korea’s biggest holidays and the busiest for international travel.

In its last year of operations to Zagreb in 2019, Korean Air handled 39.763 passengers on its flights to and from the Croatian capital, according to the European Union’s Statistical Office. The carrier’s average cabin load factor on the route for the entire year stood at 70.5%, however, average loads peaked at 89.5% in the month of May of that year. Since the airline initially maintained year-round flights between the two cities, loads were notably light during the first quarter of 2019 because the service was operated with a triangle routing Seoul - Zagreb - Zurich - Seoul, with the majority of seats being taken up by passengers flying to or from the Swiss city. The airline operated a total of 241 flights in 2019 (both directions included). It utilised the 218-seat A330-200 aircraft on 69% of its Zagreb flights and the 269-seat Boeing 787-9 on the remaining services.