Deadly Jeju Air Crash Propels Titanic Flight Cancellations Across South Korea

After 179 people were killed on Jeju Air Flight 2216 in the worst plane crash in South Korea, the low-cost carrier told AFP Monday it was facing a wave of cancellations.

In Sunday’s accident at Muan, a Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 carrying 181 people from Thailand to South Korea made a mayday call and belly-landed before crashing into a barrier and bursting into flames.

Two crew members are the only survivors of Jeju Air flight 7C 2216 which crash-landed at Muan International Airport on a flight from Bangkok.

“From midnight the previous day (Sunday) to 1:00 pm today (0400 GMT Monday), the number of canceled flight tickets totaled approximately 68,000,” a Jeju Air official told AFP. Domestic flights accounted for around 33,000 cancellations, while international flights cancellations stood at around 34,000, the company said.

“Many also are asking if their aircraft is the Boeing 737-800, and if so, they want to cancel,” they said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A Jeju Air flight from Seoul on Monday was forced to return after encountering a landing gear problem, Yonhap reported — the aircraft being the same Boeing 737-800 involved in the latest incident.

Local media reported that 21 passengers chose not to board an alternate flight after the aircraft landed, citing concerns over safety and other reasons. Jeju Air shares fell as much as 15 percent on Monday.

Authorities were working on Monday to confirm the identities of more than three dozen of the 179 people who were killed when the plane crash-landed. The bodies of 141 people had been identified through their fingerprints or DNA, but 38 of the dead remained unidentified, local officials said. 

Officials had recovered the flight's data recorders from the wreckage and were releasing information. The acting president, Choi Sang-mok, who has been leading the country since Friday, ordered an emergency safety inspection of South Korea's entire air fleet and operations.