The first departures in a quarantine-free travel bubble program South Korea signed with Saipan are set to take place Saturday.

A Transport Ministry official told KBS that six tourists who will stay at two government-designated hotels in Saipan are scheduled to leave on Saturday. The official added the group departure could still be canceled due to quarantine situations.

Asiana Airlines will service flights to Saipan from Saturday and budget carrier T'way Air from next Thursday.

The ministry official said the Saturday flight was originally scheduled and unrelated to the travel bubble but coincidentally the timing overlapped. Some 60 passengers are known to be taking the Asiana flight. 

A travel industry source also affirmed that fully vaccinated tourists are believed to be departing Saturday under the travel bubble scheme. 

Earlier, a Transport Ministry official had said the launch of the travel bubble program would be postponed to next month, citing unfinished preparations on the island. But the Saipanese government designated two hotels for the travel bubble program, greenlighting it to move ahead as planned. 

South Korea and Saipan signed a travel bubble agreement on June 30 to exempt fully vaccinated people from mandatory quarantine upon entry. The program is available for group tours only, for now.