Busan City Attends the "Emirates Busan Branch Opening Ceremony," Strengthening Resolve to Establish Direct Flight Routes

Attending the opening ceremony of the Emirates Busan Branch in Jung-gu, Jungang-dong at 14:00 on November 2, cementing the cooperative will to open a direct route between Busan and Dubai (approx. 7,000 km).

Busan City (Mayor Jeon Jae-soo) announced that it will attend the opening ceremony of the Emirates Busan Branch located in Jungang-dong, Jung-gu, at 2 p.m. today (the 2nd) to solidify its commitment to cooperating on the establishment of a direct flight route between Busan and Dubai.

'Emirates,' a global airline connecting 152 cities across 80 countries worldwide with Dubai as its hub, organized this event to celebrate the opening of its Busan branch and broaden the consensus for launching a Busan–Dubai direct route. The event will be attended by the Director General of the New Airport Bureau of Busan City, the Deputy Head of the UAE Embassy in Korea, the Country Manager of Emirates Korea, the Chairman of the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and representatives from related organizations and industries.

Taking advantage of this opening ceremony, the city plans to closely cooperate with relevant organizations and airlines for the swift establishment of the Busan–Dubai direct route, while actively driving administrative support to ensure that all necessary conditions for route operation are smoothly established.

The opening of the Busan–Dubai direct route (approx. 7,000 km) is expected to not only directly connect Busan with the Middle East, but also enhance aviation accessibility to various regions including Europe and Africa via Dubai transit. This is also projected to contribute to attracting international tourists, expanding overseas expansion for regional businesses, and vitalizing international business.

The city is implementing financial support projects—such as subsidizing a portion of initial operating losses for airlines (up to 2 billion won)—to establish a stable foundation for the launch and early operation of new international routes. Through this, the city plans to strengthen the foundation for route attraction, develop mid-to-long-term strategic routes, and continuously expand the international aviation network.

In addition, the city is striving to expand international routes by cooperating with airlines and related organizations to connect the rapidly surging aviation demand* at Gimhae Airport to regional tourism revitalization and economic performance.

Gimhae Airport achieved 10 million international passengers last year for the first time among regional airports since COVID-19, and surpassed 10 million passengers for two consecutive years this October. The future goal is to achieve 12 million annual international passengers.
Based on this growth trend, the city diversified its aviation network focusing on Japan and the Greater China region in the first half of this year, and plans to expand destinations to Kagoshima, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Kuala Lumpur, and others during the winter operation period (October 2026 – March 2027). With the entry of new airlines onto existing routes, aviation accessibility between Busan and major overseas cities is expected to be further improved.

Alongside the expansion of short-haul routes, the city is also focusing on developing mid-to-long-range strategic routes connecting to the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. Negotiations with airlines are underway to attract strategic routes such as Dubai, Turkey, and Los Angeles (LA).

Furthermore, the city plans to push for attracting the headquarters of an integrated LCC (Low-Cost Carrier) to Busan to foster a regional base airline, thereby further strengthening Gimhae Airport’s international aviation network.

Mayor Jeon Jae-soo stated, "The Busan–Dubai direct route will serve as the starting point for a new aviation connection network directly linking Busan with the Middle East and extending to major world cities in Europe and Africa." He added, "We will strengthen cooperation with global airlines including Emirates to actively attract mid-to-long-haul routes, seamlessly advance the attraction of the integrated LCC headquarters and the construction of Gadeokdo New Airport, and make Busan a global gateway city of the southern region."

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]