(MENAFN- The Peninsula)
The Korea Herald
Jeju Air, under nationwide scrutiny over last month's tragic crash that claimed 179 lives, had more delays due to aircraft maintenance in the first half of last year than any other airline based in South Korea, government data showed Monday.
Nearly 1.01 percent of all Jeju Air flights during the first six months of 2024 were delayed due to maintenance, a significantly higher rate than the 0.64 percent average for all domestic airlines in the same period, according to Rep. Lee Yeon-hee of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea.
Of the 52,883 flights operated by the low-cost carrier, 563 failed to arrive at their destination on time due to maintenance. This far outstrips delays for similar reasons by other low-cost carriers -- 315 by T'way Air, 243 by Jin Air and 227 by Air Busan -- and also outnumbers those recorded by the much larger Korean Air.
In the full year of 2024, Jeju Air operated the third-most flights out of all carriers here, behind Korean Air's 141,000 and Asiana Airlines' 101,000. Of Jeju Air's flights, 0.97 percent were delayed due to maintenance for the full year, also substantially higher than the nationwide average of 0.59 percent.
Delays by Jeju Air flights over the past two years marked an abrupt surge from the preceding three years during the global COVID-19 pandemic, when there were only 63, 74 and 43 delays due to maintenance in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively. Its ratio of delays to overall flights each year was also lower than the respective nationwide averages for domestic airlines.
The beleaguered carrier did not issue an official statement on the sudden jump in delays, but it corresponds with a similar surge in operation hours of Jeju Air planes. Aircraft operated for an average of 174 hours in 2020, 132 in 2021 and 208 in 2022, but that soared to 412 hours in 2023.
Jeju Air has vowed to hire 38 and 27 additional personnel in the first and second half of this year, respectively, bringing the total number of its maintenance staff to about 560.
In the deadliest aviation accident to occur on South Korean soil, Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 crashed on Dec. 29 while landing at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province. The plane's landing gear did not deploy. The government is investigating to find the full cause behind the fatal accident.
Bird strikes and gear malfunction are among the potential causes behind the tragedy, but there has also been suspicion over possible insufficient maintenance efforts on the airline's part.
As part of its efforts to address such concerns, Jeju Air said it will cut up to 15 percent its flight operations by March.
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