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Two budget carriers fined 600 mln won each for flight safety violations

April 1, 2016

SEJONG,  (Yonhap) — South Korea’s two budget carriers have been slapped with 600 million won (US$524,000) in fines each for breaching flight safety regulations, the transportation ministry said Friday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport imposed the highest financial penalty on Jeju Air Co., owned by mid-sized retailer Aekyung Group, and Jin Air Co., a low budget airline unit of No. 1 Korean Air Lines Co.

An airplane of Jeju Air had to drop to an altitude of 8,000 feet from 18,000 ft on its way to Jeju Island from Seoul on Dec. 23 last year with about 150 passengers aboard due to a defect in its air pressure regulator.

A week later, a Jin Air flight carrying some 160 passengers to Busan was forced to make an emergency return to an airport in the Philippines shortly after taking off after one of its doors was found to be improperly closed.

The ministry suspended the two Jeju Air pilots who were in charge of the Dec. 23 flight for 30 days, with the Jin Air pilot and co-pilot suspended for 30 days and 15 days, respectively.

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