In a statement, Korean Air said it will use Boeing 787-9 planes, with a capacity for 290 passengers, to operate three weekly flights between Seoul Incheon airport and Lisbon, on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays.

The airline said that flights will run for almost two months, at least until October 25, but admitted that it “also has plans to extend the operation of this route during the winter season”.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the winter season for civil aviation starts on October 27th and runs until March 30th, 2025.

Korean Air highlighted that the new connection from Incheon will offer “the only direct flights between Lisbon and Northeast Asia”, a region that includes Japan, Mongolia, and the far east of Russia.

“The new direct flights will facilitate travel, making trips to Lisbon and neighbouring cities more accessible,” said the airline, which gave Porto as an example.

This connection could also be used for passengers who want to fly between Macau and Lisbon, the company managing the airport in the Chinese Special Administrative Region said in a statement.

CAM – Society of Macau International Airport recalled that Korean Air had already announced, at the end of April, the return of daily direct flights between Seoul and the territory, starting July 1st, after a four-year hiatus due to the covid-19 pandemic.

“This means that passengers can travel directly from Macau to Portugal via Seoul with Korean Air, serving as a bridge between the two destinations and bringing convenience to tourism, culture, and economy”, highlighted CAM.

In June, the director of Macau Tourism Services, Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes, described the launch of direct flights to Portugal as “a dream”, but also recalled that it was possible to work with the neighboring airports of Hong Kong, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

The latest estimate given to Lusa by the Consulate General of Portugal in Macau pointed to more than 100,000 Portuguese passport holders among residents in the two Chinese special administrative regions of Macau and Hong Kong.

According to official data from the Macau Statistics and Census Bureau, the city received 6,013 tourists from Portugal in 2023, the year in which it removed all entry restrictions imposed due to the pandemic.