South Korea’s major airlines plan to suspend or reduce their flights bound for Japan as the number of passengers visiting the country is declining, company and industry sources said Sunday.

Asiana Airlines Inc. plans to suspend its twice-a-day flights linking the southeastern port city of Busan to Osaka starting Feb. 21. It recently received approval from the transportation ministry for the flight suspension, according to the sources.

An Asiana Airlines official said that the decision was made due to “declining profits” from Japan-bound services.

Korean Air Lines Co. is also following suit by stopping its flights between Incheon and Shizuoka from March 30.

The country’s largest carrier is currently providing flights three times a week between the two cities.

“We will suspend the service for the time being due to a fall in the number of passengers,” a company official said. “The service could be resumed when demand picks up.”

The decisions came after local airlines cut back on their Japan-bound flights last year as the number of passengers traveling to the neighboring country dropped amid worries over radioactive contamination and strained Seoul-Tokyo diplomatic relations. (Yonhap)