South Korea and Indonesia have reached an agreement to allow airlines to freely operate flights between several regional airports as part of efforts to increase connectivity between two of Asia’s largest aviation markets.

The move follows the latest round of talks between South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) and the Indonesian government after the two countries last November failed to reach a deal over bilateral rights. Since 2012, the number of weekly frequencies has been capped at 23.

The new agreement permits carriers to freely operate flights between airports in six South Korean cities, namely Busan, Daegu, Cheongju, Jeju, Muan and Yangyang, and Indonesia’s Balikpapan, Batam, Kertajati, Lombok, Manado and Yogyakarta.

Additionally, airlines will be allowed to operate up to seven weekly frequencies connecting any airport in South Korea except Seoul Incheon International Airport (ICN) to Jakarta, as well as seven weekly frequencies from any airport except ICN to Bali. New routes will also be established linking Seoul Incheon with Batam and Manado, while carriers from both countries will be allowed to forge codesharing partnerships between South Korea and Bali.

MOLIT’s Director of Aviation Policy Kim Yeong-guk says the expanded air services agreement will stimulate traffic between the countries, opening flights from regional airports and encouraging further trade and investment. It is also hoped that new carriers will be able to enter the market, particularly South Korea’s expanding LCCs.

Indonesia was the fourth largest aviation market by capacity in the Asia-Pacific region in 2023 with about 123 million scheduled departure seats, while South Korea was the eighth largest with 71.4 million departure seats.

However, nonstop connectivity is currently limited to just two routes, OAG Schedules Analyser data shows, with Garuda Indonesia and Korean Air each flying Seoul Incheon-Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta and Seoul Incheon-Denpasar-Bali. Asiana Airlines also serves Indonesia’s capital Jakarta from ICN.

According to preliminary data provided by Sabre Market Intelligence, O&D traffic totaled about 957,000 two-way passengers in 2023, up by about 1% compared with the number in 2019 before the pandemic. Around 56% of passengers traveled nonstop last year, while Singapore was the largest one-stop connecting market, accounting for 18% of the traffic.

Looking at data for the 3,272-mi. (2,843-nm) Seoul Incheon-Denpasar-Bali route, Korean Air carried about 223,000 passengers between the destinations in 2023, equivalent to about 306 passengers per day each way. The average base fare per leg was about $457.