T'way Airlines, one of South Korea's budget carriers, will launch flight service linking Muan with service to Kitakyushu in Japan this week, the regional government here said Sunday.

The low-cost carrier said it will provide round-trip flights three times a week starting Tuesday. Muan lies 385 kilometers south of Seoul and it has one of South Korea's newer airports.


The 70-minute flight will be operated for four month, with T'way to turn it into a regular service if there is demand, the South Jeolla provincial government said.

The carrier said it will use its B737 passenger jet on the route that can seat 185 people.

The province said it is also in talks with Korean Air Lines Co., the country's largest full-service carrier, to link its cities with places like Osaka.

"The goal is to expand international flights service linking the province to the outside world," an official said. At present most flights from the region go to China, but the province wants to expand routes to Japan and Southeast Asia.

Passenger traffic at Musan International Airport reached 250,000 as of late September, up 7 percent from the same period in 2015. At the present pace, the total should surpass the 350,000 mark for the first time this year, according to the provincial government. (Yonhap)