Crashed Jeju Air Plane had 13 Flights in 48 hours Before Fatal Accident

SEAToday.com, Seoul - The Jeju Air plane involved in the deadly crash that claimed 179 lives was recorded to have served 13 flights in the 48 hours before the incident.

The Boeing B737-800, which is believed to have suffered landing gear damage while landing at Muan International Airport on Sunday (30/12), was recorded to have traveled between Muan, Jeju Island and Incheon, west of Seoul, in the previous 48 hours.

It had also traveled to several international destinations, including Beijing, Bangkok, Kota Kinabalu, Nagasaki and Taipei.

The plane served as a charter flight for group tours mostly organized by Gwangju-based travel agencies, which offered 5-day travel packages to Bangkok for the Christmas season.

Industry observers have raised concerns about whether Jeju Air may have overstepped its bounds by over-scheduling charter flights during the year-end holiday season.

Regional airports in South Korea rely heavily on charter flights operated by low-cost carriers like Jeju Air.

“In the case of regional airports, there are few regular flight routes, so they often rely on charter flights. Since most airlines operating at regional airports are low-cost carriers, most charter flights are run by these airlines,” said a travel industry official.

Jeju Air is known as one of the airlines that has the highest monthly aircraft utilization rate among domestic airlines.

According to company data, Jeju Air's average monthly flight time per aircraft was 418 hours in the July-September period, the longest among the six low-cost domestic airlines.