Airline operators cut some routes between China and South Korea as the fallout spread on Friday from a diplomatic row over Seoul's plans to deploy a U.S. missile defense system regardless of Beijing's objections.

In a statement on its website Korea's Eastar Jet Inc. said it was stopping flights between the South Korean cities of Cheongju and the tourist hot spot Jeju with various Chinese cities including Ningbo, Jinjiang and Harbin.

This followed Carnival Corp.'s Costa Cruises and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd canceling South Korean port visits by their China-based cruises. Royal Caribbean cited "recent developments regarding the situation in South Korea."