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Photo = Korean Air |
[Alpha Biz= Paul Lee] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) has imposed a total of 3.538 billion KRW (approximately 35.38 billion won) in fines on three domestic airlines—Jeju Air, T’way Air, and Korean Air—for violations of the Aviation Safety Act. In addition, eight aircraft maintenance technicians involved have been suspended from their duties.
MOLIT confirmed the airlines’ breaches of maintenance regulations and finalized the penalties following an administrative disciplinary review committee held from April 8 to 9, the ministry announced on May 27.
Jeju Air was found to have failed to conduct pre- and post-flight checks (PR/PO) within the required 48-hour period on two occasions. The airline also neglected proper fault investigation procedures when engine defects occurred, leading to repeated occurrences of the same defects. As a result, Jeju Air was fined 800 million KRW, and three maintenance technicians received suspensions of 30 days (one technician) and 15 days (two technicians), respectively.
T’way Air conducted engine exhaust nozzle crack inspections on three aircraft not according to the manufacturer’s 7-day standard, but rather based on its own internal schedule. Further violations included skipping filter replacement during hydraulic system repairs, failing to inspect hydraulic fluid components, and reusing parts prohibited from reuse.
Additionally, instances of maintenance records being arbitrarily deleted or falsely amended were uncovered after repeated defects were found post-airworthiness confirmation. Consequently, T’way Air was fined 2.65 billion KRW, with related maintenance personnel receiving suspensions of 45 days (one), 30 days (one), and 15 days (one).
Korean Air was fined 133 million KRW after it was revealed that during flap system maintenance, equipment was mounted on temporarily fixed parts without following proper procedural guidelines. Two maintenance technicians involved were suspended for 15 days each.
Alphabiz Reporter Paul Lee(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
