SEOUL: South Korean low-cost carrier (LCC) T’way Air Co has been fined 2 billion won (US$1.48 million) for multiple air safety rule violations in a special inspection carried out earlier this year, a government document showed on Sunday.
According to the transport ministry report submitted to Rep. Lee Yeon-hee of the main opposition Democratic Party, T’way Air was fined for five counts of violations of aviation safety regulations related to operation and maintenance in early August.
A ministry official said the fines were imposed “based on the results of safety inspections conducted on the airline from the end of last year to the beginning of this year”.
T’way Air was also imposed with a temporary operation suspension for one of its A330-300 aircraft in July due to urgent measures required to address a hydraulic system defect in the plane.
The suspension was lifted four days after the aircraft underwent maintenance. It was the ministry’s first suspension measure imposed on a specific aircraft since 2018.
The South Korean LCC, which introduced long haul routes to European cities earlier this year, has been plagued with frequent flight delays and cancellations as of late.
From 2020 to June of this year, T’way Air reported a total of 993 delays or cancellations due to aircraft maintenance issues. The number of cases, which stood at 68 in 2022, surged to 510 in 2023 and has reached 315 in the first half of this year.
