Mass Cancellations of Jeju Air Tickets Following Fatal Crash
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Seoul, Dec 30 (NationPress) A significant increase in the cancellation of travel arrangements and airline tickets was noted on Monday amid rising concerns for aviation safety after a tragic airliner incident that resulted in the loss of 179 lives, according to industry sources.
Jeju Air disclosed that 68,000 flight bookings had been cancelled by 1 p.m. (South Korean time). Out of these cancellations, more than 33,000 were for domestic flights, while 34,000 pertained to international routes, as reported by the Yonhap news agency.
The airline indicated that the majority of these cancellations occurred after 9 a.m. on Sunday, following the crash of its flight 7C2216, which was carrying 181 people and went down at Muan International Airport in the southwestern region of Muan.
Additionally, local travel agencies have reported a notable increase in the cancellation of tour packages in the wake of this tragedy. Many have paused their TV and online advertisements along with promotional efforts.
"We received approximately 40 inquiries about travel cancellations on Sunday alone," stated an anonymous travel agent. "We experienced about double the usual rate of cancellations and saw a 50 percent drop in new bookings."
Industry experts have mentioned that the travel sector is closely observing the situation, expecting further repercussions as public concern regarding aviation safety escalates.
In another incident, a Jeju Air flight that departed from South Korea on Monday had to return to its departure airport due to a similar landing gear malfunction that was identified in a separate aircraft crash involving the same model the prior day, according to the airline.
Jeju Air Flight 7C101, which left Gimpo International Airport for Jeju at 6:37 a.m., detected a problem with its landing gear shortly after taking off.
The airline informed the 161 passengers about the mechanical issue caused by the landing gear malfunction and subsequently returned the flight to Gimpo at 7:25 a.m.
