The tragic crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216 which claimed 179 lives on Sunday has sent shockwaves across South Korea, leading to cancellation of 67,000 tickets by passengers amid mounting concerns about air travel safety.
LEADERSHIP reports that the ill-fated Boeing 737-800, en route from Thailand to South Korea crash-landed at Muan on Sunday, bursting into flames after hitting a barrier.
Jeju Air, the country’s largest low-cost carrier, confirmed on Monday that approximately 67,000 tickets were cancelled between midnight Sunday and 1 p.m. Monday (0400 GMT).
“From midnight the previous day (Sunday) to 1:00 p.m. today (Monday), the number of cancelled flight tickets totalled approximately 67,000,” a Jeju Air official told AFP.
The official revealed that domestic cancellations accounted for around 33,000 tickets, while 34,000 international bookings were withdrawn.
However, despite the cancellations, Jeju Air noted a continued inflow of new bookings. “Given the current situation, the cancellation rate is slightly higher than usual. However, the inflow of new bookings remains steady,” Song Kyung-hoon, head of the management support office at Jeju Air, said during a press conference.
The incident also caused anxiety among travelers, impacting major travel agencies. One of South Korea’s largest agencies reported hundreds of cancellations shortly after opening on Monday.
“We got at least 400 cancellations in the first hour of our opening,” the agency told AFP, requesting anonymity. “Many also are asking if their aircraft is the Boeing 737-800, and if so, they want to cancel.”
Further concerns were raised when another Jeju Air flight from Seoul on Monday, also a Boeing 737-800, was forced to return due to a landing gear problem, according to Yonhap News Agency. Twenty-one passengers declined to board an alternate flight, citing safety concerns.
The crash has significantly impacted Jeju Air’s stock performance, with shares plunging as much as 15% on Monday. AK Holdings Inc, the airline’s largest stakeholder, saw its shares drop by over 12%, while shares of several domestic tour agencies fell more than 5%.
The crash of Flight 2216 marked one of the worst aviation disasters in South Korea’s history, casting a shadow over the country’s air travel industry and leaving passengers wary of boarding Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, on Monday ordered an emergency safety inspection of the nation’s airline operations following the country’s deadliest aviation disaster.
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