Commonwealth Ports Authority Executive Director Leo B. Tudela, fourth right, and Airport Manager Frank Duenas, center, pose for a photo with a newly arrived Asiana Airlines crew at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport at 3 a.m. on Thursday.
ASIANA Airlines is back.
At around 2:45 a.m., Thursday, Asiana’s 290-seat A330-300 Airbus landed at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport.
Commonwealth Ports Authority Executive Director Leo B. Tudela and Airport Manager Frank Duenas were in the arrival area at 3 a.m. to welcome the 290 passengers and the Asiana crew. Most of the passengers carried golf bags, Tudela noted.
In an interview, he said it was the first of the incoming flights from South Korea since Asiana Airlines suspended its Saipan flight service two months ago.
Asiana will now provide two flights to Saipan each week until March, Tudela said.
Since it is winter in Korea, Tudela said Korean travelers are eager to travel to a warm place like the CNMI.
He said an Asiana manager told him that “most Koreans love the CNMI,” and they always want to come back to the island.
Tudela said his Christmas wish is for Asiana to “stay for good.”
He said the period from December to March is a “window of opportunity for us to make everything good for them to come back, especially for [Korean tourists] who are visiting the island for the first time.”
“We need them to come back and bring [more] tourists here. I’m very happy for this and very grateful to Asiana. It’s a nice Christmas blessing for CPA and the CNMI,” Tudela said.
Since 2014, South Korea has been the islands’ primary tourism market, replacing Japan.
So far this year, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority, arrivals from Korea have recovered 75% compared to pre-pandemic levels. However, arrivals from the CNMI’s two other major markets, China and Japan, remain low.
