Incheon Airport to be Delta's Asia hub, direct route to Salt Lake City taking off in 2025

Incheon International Airport has been selected as Delta Air Lines’ new hub in Asia as the airline opens a new direct route to Salt Lake City next year.

Incheon International Airport Corporation CEO Lee Hak-jae, left, and Delta Air Lines CEO Edward Bastian during a strategic discussion session held on Sept. 25. [INCHEON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT CORPORATION]

Incheon International Airport has been selected as Delta Air Lines’ new hub in Asia as the airline prepares to launch a direct route to Salt Lake City next year.

The Incheon International Airport Corporation finalized the new route during a strategic discussion session held on Sept. 25 with its president and CEO Lee Hak-jae and Delta Air Lines CEO Edward Bastian, the airport said Monday.

At the meeting, Delta Air Lines confirmed its new Seoul-Salt Lake City route, with the first flight scheduled to depart on June 12, 2025. This will make Incheon the only airport in Asia with a direct connection to the U.S. city.

Incheon will also be the only Asian airport with direct connections to Delta’s four core hub cities — Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis and Salt Lake City.

Delta previously offered 84,361 seats per month to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport as of August 2019 but suspended all flights to Narita in March 2020, shifting operations to Tokyo's Haneda Airport.

As of August 2024, Delta operates 372 flights and offers 103,602 seats to Haneda, compared to 310 flights and 93,248 seats to Incheon.

With the addition of 62 flights and 17,050 seats for the upcoming Salt Lake City route, Incheon will become Delta’s largest hub in Asia in terms of seat capacity, surpassing Haneda International Airport.

The new route is expected to bring 180,000 passengers and 94,000 transfer passengers annually, according to Incheon Airport.

Delta has been working to strengthen Incheon Airport as its Asian hub since its enhanced partnership with Korean Air in 2018. That year, the two SkyTeam airlines signed a joint venture agreement, expanding code-share routes, transfer connections and mileage sharing.

“Incheon International Airport, through collaboration with Delta Air Lines, will undoubtedly grow as a global hub and a world-leading airport,” said the Incheon International Airport Corporation CEO.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]