Gov't vows to strengthen aviation safety after major incidents, delays

The government will launch an inspection of all national airlines after serious incidents and delays rocked public trust.

Minister of Land Park Sang-woo inspects aviation safety management at Korean Air's maintenance hangar at Incheon International Airport [NEWS1]

The government vowed to strengthen aviation safety standards for national airlines following a series of safety incidents and aircraft defects that heightened public concern.

Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Park Sang-woo conducted a thorough inspection of maintenance management systems at Incheon International Airport on Wednesday, urging the participating airline CEO to make public safety their top priority.

“Under the principle that not a single citizen should be aboard unsafe aircraft, ensuring public safety must be our top priority, " Park noted.

Additionally, Minister Park asked for a special safety inspection of all 11 domestic airlines starting July 1, according to a local news broadcaster YTN.

During his visit to the airport, he checked the current status of safety management in the aviation sector and reviewed safety management plans for the upcoming peak summer season.

"Public trust is shaken due to incidents like turbulence accidents involving national carriers and frequent defects among low-cost carriers (LCCs)," Park said.

The ministry plans to focus on vulnerable areas through an analysis of prolonged delays and cancellations, and conduct a comprehensive inspection of maintenance management systems and preventive maintenance practices across the country's carriers.

Special supervision for LCCs with increasing long-haul flights will be pursued, with plans to support education and training for aviation personnel and to provide safety management consulting.

Recently, there have been a series of aviation-related accidents, such as sudden descent due to cabin pressure control failures resulting in injured passengers or delays of up to 20 hours.

On June 22, Korean Air flight 189 flying from Incheon to Taiwan was cruising at an altitude of 10,000 meters (33,000 feet) when it suddenly plunged 6,100 meters as it experienced a cabin pressure control failure.

Frightened passengers put on oxygen masks, with 15 suffering injuries such as eardrum damage.

On June 14, a T'way Air flight to Osaka was delayed for over 11 hours, trapping some 310 passengers on board for over two hours, with some passing out.

The airline also had a 20-hour delay for a flight from Bangkok to Cheongju just a day prior to its Osaka flight incident.

BY CHOI HAE-JIN [choi.haejin@joongang.co.kr]