Korean Air Fined 10 Million Won After Passengers Misrouted to Domestic Terminal at Gimpo
Key Takeaways
- •Korean Air was fined 10 million won ($7,461) by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for violating aviation security regulations.
- •On June 7, a shuttle bus carrying 52 passengers from flight KE2106 from Tokyo Haneda was mistakenly driven to Gimpo Airport's domestic terminal.
- •Four passengers left the airport without passing through immigration but later returned to complete the procedures.
- •The bus driver was an employee of a contracted ground handling company, for whose operations Korean Air bears regulatory responsibility.
- •Korean Air said it will review its ground operations to prevent a recurrence of the incident.
Korean Air has been fined 10 million won ($7,461) after dozens of passengers arriving on an international flight were mistakenly taken to the domestic terminal, allowing four of them to leave the airport without passing through immigration.
The incident occurred on June 7 after Korean Air flight KE2106 arrived at Gimpo Airport from Tokyo's Haneda Airport, according to industry sources who spoke Tuesday. Gimpo, which primarily serves domestic routes along with a small number of international flights to destinations such as Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing, separates arriving international passengers from domestic ones through terminal routing, which is why the misdirected bus allowed the international arrivals to mix with domestic passenger flows.
After the flight landed, passengers boarded several shuttle buses intended to transport them to the international terminal. However, one bus carrying 52 passengers was mistakenly driven to the domestic terminal instead.
Unaware of the error, the passengers entered the terminal alongside domestic arrivals from another airline. During the process, four passengers reportedly left the airport without completing immigration procedures, but later returned to complete them.
Korean Air said the driver, an employee of a ground handling company, had mistakenly taken the bus to the domestic terminal. The airline stated that it immediately coordinated with the relevant authorities to ensure all passengers completed the required immigration procedures. Airlines commonly rely on contracted ground handling companies for services such as baggage handling and passenger transport, meaning oversight of those contractors' operations falls within the carrier's regulatory responsibility.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport determined that Korean Air had violated aviation security regulations and imposed the fine. Under South Korea's Aviation Security Act, airlines can face administrative penalties for lapses in procedures that control the flow of international arrivals, as unprocessed entry of passengers into the country constitutes a breach of border and security controls.
The airline said it will take the incident seriously and review its ground operations to prevent a recurrence.
