Travelers at Dulles International Airport have a new option for reaching South Korea.
The airport is now offering nonstop service to and from Seoul Incheon International Airport, courtesy of the Korean airline Air Premia.
It’s the first new service that Dulles has provided to South Korea in more than 30 years, according to Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Chryssa Westerlund.
“These new flights bring our region a strong premium economy option for travel between Washington and Seoul,” Westerlund said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the service’s launch last Friday (April 24).
The new flights are currently available year-round on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. The service uses a Boeing 787 aircraft that seats 320 passengers in premium economy and economy classes.
According to MWAA, Dulles is now the fifth location in the U.S. and only the second on the East Coast served by Air Premia, which also has flights between east Asia and Honolulu, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Newark.
Dulles also has direct flights to Incheon Airport via Korean Air, along with options for service that require connections. MWAA noted that the D.C. region is home to over 100,000 Korean-born residents, making it the second-largest center for that population on the East Coast.
Last week’s ribbon-cutting celebration outside gate B45 featured traditional Korean fan dancing and drumming performances by D.C.’s JUB Cultural Center, a tour of Dulles Airport in a mobile lounge that provided a view of the first flight landing, and gifts for all passengers, according to a press release.
“Today’s launch is more than just a new route; it’s a major milestone in our mission to connect the world,” Air Premia Chief Strategy Officer Kwangeun Park said in the release. “Washington, D.C., is a place where history is made and the future is shaped. By linking Seoul and D.C., we are not merely linking two airports; we are bridging the administrative capitals of our countries.”
Dulles Airport served a record 29.01 million passengers in 2025, hosting 46 airlines that provided over 340 daily flights to 164 destinations around the world, MWAA reported in February.
This year started with some turbulence after winter weather grounded flights in late January and the U.S.-Israel war in Iran disrupted service to the Middle East. However, airport officials are preparing for their first-ever nonstop service to Taipei, provided by EVA Air starting on June 26, and the new Concourse E is expected to open this fall.
