Korean airlines are expanding services beyond China’s main business hubs, expecting a rebound in travel between the two countries to create sustainable demand for routes linking smaller cities and regional tourism destinations. Jin Air, an affiliate of Korean Air, will launch flights between Incheon and China’s Yichang on Sept. 17 and resume services to China’s Qingdao and Yantai this month. Eastar Jet will open a Daegu-Zhangjiajie route on Sept. 1, while adding charter flights to China’s Datong, Nantong and Ningbo after securing rights for 11 Korea-China routes in April. The additions come as passenger traffic on routes between Korea and China reached 9.54 million in the first half of 2026, up 22 percent from a year earlier, according to Korea’s Aviation Information Portal System. Chinese visitor arrivals in Korea grew even faster, rising 27.1 percent to 3.21 million during the period, according to data compiled by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO). The recovery has given airlines greater confidence to restore routes suspended during the pandemic and explore markets beyond