Passengers on so-called ‘flights to nowhere’ are being given the chance to avail themselves of exclusive duty free discounts courtesy of Lotte Duty Free.

Lotte Duty Free has teamed up with a variety of domestic airlines including Air Busan, t’Way, Jeju Air and Air Seoul to offer duty free shopping benefits.

Customers who fly with carriers affiliated to Lotte Duty Free can receive up to KRW600,000/$539 through LDF Pay based on the purchase amount and discounts of up to 60% on popular fashion and beauty brands such as Tumi, Camper and Hula.

MORE FLIGHTS IN FEBRUARY

The non-landing international tourism flights in South Korea have increased in popularity since launching in December after operational rights were granted by Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Tourism the month prior.

TRBusiness was first aware in October that discussions surrounding the policy were taking place.

A total of 23 flights have gained permission to fly this month, an increase on the permitted flights for December and January.

Sales in January from ‘non-landing’ tourist flights were up 70% month-on-month, according to Lotte.

Air Busan is operating six ‘no-landing’ flights in February, including over the Chinese New Year holiday period.

Passengers on these flights can receive benefits, including money that can be used to purchase goods from Lotte’s online duty free store.

This is in addition to a Lotte Beauty Sheet comprising a L’Oréal skincare item from Atelier Cologne perfume.

Lotte says the amount of duty free goods purchased by non-landing passengers has been two-and-a-half times higher than that of passengers prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Lee Jung-min, head of the platform business division of Lotte Duty Free said: “One of the main objectives of non-landing tourist flights in a situation where the aftermath of Covid-19 continues, is to shop for duty-free goods. In the future, we will continue to provide various benefits to repay the support of our customers.”