The government will seek to offer more options in "flights to nowhere" tours in a bid to stimulate domestic tourism by allowing passengers to alight at a domestic airport different from where they had boarded.

This means passengers who depart from Incheon or Gimpo International Airport would be allowed to disembark at other airports, such as Gimhae or Jeju, after a circular flight in foreign airspace. 

According to the Transport Ministry on Sunday, the program will begin either on August 21 or 28, after airlines survey demand. 

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, such flight tours have become popular, providing passengers the opportunity to shop duty-free. Travelers are also exempt from COVID-19 testing and quarantine upon re-entry as they never leave the plane.

Despite heightened social distancing in South Korea, flights to Saipan are set to resume in late July under a travel bubble agreement to exempt fully vaccinated people from mandatory quarantine.