South Korea asks budget airlines to tighten safety measures after the accident

South Korea has asked low-cost airlines to prioritize safety over profit after the fatal Jeju Air plane crash in South Korea last month, in a bid to boost confidence in the country’s aviation industry.

At a meeting with nine South Korean low-cost airlines on Thursday, the country’s Ministry of Transport called for measures to reduce flight hours, improve pilot training and increase the number of maintenance workers. The ministry stopped short of issuing official targets, instead leaving it to airlines to develop their own proposals.

Jeju Airlines said it will reduce the average daily flight time of its planes to 12.8 hours from 14 hours per day, according to the ministry. She added that the company will also add 41 maintenance workers to increase the total number to 350.

The accident, in which a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crashed into a concrete wall at Muan International Airport, killing 179 people, was the worst aviation disaster on South Korean soil. It was the deadliest worldwide since then Lion Air Flight 610 in 2018When all 189 people on board died. Travel agencies say people canceled their trips in the weeks that followed, according to local media.

While there is no evidence to suggest that poor maintenance or pilot error was a factor in the accident, investigators will look at all aspects of the flight. This includes the plane Repair history And whether a bird strike led to the disruption of its engines and electrical systems.

The ministry said in a statement that airlines that ignore safety will be avoided by travelers and disappear. It said it would suspend the flight certificates of airlines that do not adhere to safety standards.

Low-cost airlines have grown rapidly in the past two decades despite a setback when travel collapsed during the pandemic. But they face cost pressures as they compete to lower ticket prices.

Aviation experts said some of the safety measures proposed by the government may have a limited impact on safety, but they could help in ways such as reducing the workloads of pilots and other workers to reduce the risk of fatigue leading to human error.

“There’s not much you can do in one hour other than basic safety checks,” said Kwon Bo-hoon, a professor of aviation safety management at Far Eastern University, referring to Jeju Airlines’ decision to reduce flying hours.

Officials said the plane that crashed was about 15 years old and had no history of accidents. Old planes are considered safe, But they often require more maintenance.

The government’s demands could also raise costs for airlines competing to offer discounted travel. Experts said that increasing the size of maintenance crews, for example, would increase operating costs for airlines that operate on a no-frills service model, leading to higher ticket prices.

The government announced plans on Wednesday Repair of the runway infrastructure This included expanding safety zones and building GPS devices, the antenna arrays that help pilots land, using more flexible steel instead of concrete.

One of the specific subjects of accident investigations is the concrete wall at Muan Airport that contained its antenna array. Flight 7C2216 slid into a concrete wall at high speed and exploded, killing all but two of the plane’s passengers and crew.

A Safety check The Ministry of Transportation found several weeks ago that seven airports in South Korea and several of the country’s airlines were violating current safety standards. The violations included failing to conduct safety checks within the required time frame after takeoff, and improperly replacing filters in the aircraft’s hydraulic systems after they overheated.