KFTC Begins Korean Air-Asiana Slot Transfers On 10 Routes

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has begun the process of transferring airport slots and traffic rights held by Korean Air and Asiana Airlines on 10 routes identified as having “potential competition concerns” as part of remedies imposed following the merger of the two carriers.

The transfers cover both international and domestic routes: Seoul Incheon-Seattle; Seoul Incheon-Honolulu; Seoul Incheon-Guam; Busan-Guam; Seoul Incheon-London; Seoul Incheon-Jakarta; Seoul Gimpo-Jeju; Jeju-Seoul Gimpo; Jeju-Gwangju; and Gwangju-Jeju.

In a statement, the KFTC says the applications are now open for airlines “interested in commencing services or increasing frequency” on the affected routes. The agency added that the transfers are intended to ensure continued competition in markets where the combined carrier would otherwise dominate.

The move follows the KFTC’s conditional approval of the Korean Air-Asiana merger in December 2024, when the regulator found that 34 overlapping routes posed potential threats to fair competition. Korean Air and Asiana jointly held more than 50% of the market share on those routes at the time.

To mitigate anticompetitive effects, the KFTC required the divestment of airport slots and traffic rights on the 34 routes to alternative carriers. According to the commission, six routes—from Seoul Incheon to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Paris and Rome—have already been transferred to other airlines. Following the application period, the Air Transport Deliberation Committee under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will evaluate submissions and select the alternative carriers.

The KFTC said the selected airlines could begin operating on the 10 routes as early as the first half of 2026. The agency added that the process of transferring slots and traffic rights for the remaining 18 of the 34 identified routes will also begin in the first half of 2026.

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has already mandated slot transfers to Virgin Atlantic on the London Heathrow-Seoul Incheon route. The airline plans to commence daily flights on the sector from March 29, 2026, using Boeing 787-9 aircraft.