Regional aviation experts to hold int'l conference on liberalization

By Choi Ji-seon

BUSAN, Aug. 24 (Yonhap) -- Dozens of aviation experts from South Korea, China and Japan will gather this week to discuss ways to liberalize Northeast Asia's aviation industry, organizers of the event said Monday.

The three-day meeting of the Northeast Asia Air Transport Liberalization
Conference, to be held at the Nurimaru APEC House in the southern port city of
Busan from Tuesday, will bring together some 70 aviation specialists from the
three countries, including government officials and industry experts.
Topics to be discussed include the current state of air transport liberalization
and aviation policies, and suggestions on the establishment of an integrated
aviation market in Northeast Asia.
The attendants will also discuss strategic cooperation beyond Northeast Asia to
keep up with rapid changes in the global economy and the aviation industry.
"This conference is a significant one, especially for low-cost air carriers,
because the meeting might make it easier for them to offer international routes,"
an official at the Busan regional government said. "If experts from China and
Japan come away with a positive impression of Busan as a tourist destination,
then low-cost carriers such as Air Busan, which is set to offer international
routes in October, may find it easier to do so," he added.
Officials from Air Busan, which is looking to offer flights to Japan as part of
efforts to cope with an industrywide slump, say they hope the conference will
"pave the way for the carrier to tap into the international aviation market."
The annul conference, organized by the state-run Korea Transport Institute, is
the fourth of its kind and the largest international meeting on air transport
policy issues in Northeast Asia.