South Korea's Ministry of Construction and Transportation agreed to increase flights between Incheon and Doha, Qatar, from four to seven times a week in bilateral aviation talks on Nov. 27. The agreement allows Qatar Airways to serve the route daily.

South Korea is also considering a request from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to increase flights between Incheon and Dubai from the current eight to 14 times a week. If that request is agreed to at talks slated for Nov. 29-30, the number of flights bound for the Middle East will increase significantly.

South Korean airlines including Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are opposed to the added flights, claiming they will erode demand for their services. Currently Korean Air flies thrice weekly between Incheon and Dubai and Asiana serves the route through a code share with Qatar Airways.

At present, transit passengers mainly use the Incheon-Doha and Incheon-Dubai routes to travel on to European destinations. Qatar and UAE want to add flights from Seoul to make their airports hubs for Asian passengers.