Jin Air expands regional reach with new Japan, Hong Kong routes

Jin Air said Friday it held inaugural flight events at Gimhae International Airport and Jeju International Airport to mark the launch of new routes to Miyakojima, Japan, and to Hong Kong. The ceremonies were attended by Jin Air CEO Park Byung-ryul and staff, who presented bouquets to the flight crews boarding the inaugural journeys and posed for commemorative photographs to mark the occasion. The Busan-Miyakojima route, operated exclusively by Jin Air among Korean carriers, departs Gimhae at 2:45 p.m. and lands in Miyakojima, Okinawa prefecture, at 5 p.m., with flights twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays. Previously, travelers from North and South Gyeongsang provinces had to stop over in Okinawa’s main city to reach the so-called “Maldives of Japan.” The Jeju-Hong Kong route departs Jeju daily at 9:30 p.m., arriving in Hong Kong at 11:35 p.m. local time. The return flight leaves Hong Kong at 2 a.m. local time and lands in Jeju at 6:05 a.m. The airline said the schedule caters to Hong Kong tourists drawn to Jeju’s natural scenery and to local residents who want direct flights af