Jeju Air "crisis": Thousands of tickets canceled, "lost money and suffered" after the disaster!

The horrific aviation incident killed 179 people and had serious consequences for Jeju Air, which had to cancel 68,000 bookings, equivalent to more than 300 flights, within 24 hours of the tragedy.

On the morning of December 29, a Jeju Air plane crashed just before landing at Muan International Airport (South Jeolla Province, about 290 km from Seoul). According to sources, Jeju Air flight number Boeing 737-800, carrying a total of 181 people, encountered a serious situation when the plane may have hit a flock of birds while preparing to land. After that, the plane was forced to abort the landing, increase the throttle to fly around, but could not regain altitude.

On its second attempt to land, the plane failed to deploy its landing gear, forcing it to land on its belly. Unable to control its speed, the plane veered off the runway and crashed into a concrete wall before bursting into flames. All 179 people on board died, leaving only two survivors in the tragic incident. This was the first fatal incident in the history of Jeju Air, the largest low-cost airline in South Korea.

Just one day after the incident, Jeju Air faced a financial nightmare when 68,000 bookings were canceled, including 33,000 tickets on domestic flights and 34,000 international tickets. This is equivalent to more than 300 flights, causing a huge shock to the airline.

South Korea’s tourism and airline industries have also been severely affected. Tour operators have reported a spike in cancellations, with one travel agency saying it received 40 cancellations in a single day, double the usual number. Promotions and advertising have also been suspended as customers lose interest in booking flights or tours.

Jeju Air shares also suffered heavy losses. Jeju Air shares fell as much as 15.7% at the opening of trading on December 30, to their lowest level since the airline went public in 2015. However, the decline was eventually narrowed to 8.65%. Shares of parent company AK Holdings also fell sharply, to their lowest level in 16 years.

Aviation safety warnings were immediately issued following the incident. The South Korean government has ordered an urgent safety review of airlines, while analysts say consumer sentiment will likely be affected in the long term. "Such incidents will dampen travel demand slightly in the short term. However, the South Korean airline industry will not face major structural problems," said Yang Seung-yoon, an analyst at Eugene Investment Securities.

Meanwhile, other airlines also felt the impact, with Korean Air and Asiana Airlines seeing their shares fall 1.3% and 0.8%, respectively. Low-cost carriers like Air Busan rebounded, with shares rising more than 15%.

Jeju Air, which has a fleet of mostly Boeing 737-800s, is facing a huge challenge. The airline, which has 42 planes and more than 3,000 employees, is a major player in the South Korean aviation industry. Before the incident, Jeju Air was one of the most popular low-cost carriers in South Korea, carrying more than 12 million passengers in 2023 and posting revenue of $1.31 billion.

However, this unfortunate incident has seriously damaged Jeju Air's image. Passengers are concerned about the safety of choosing this airline's flights, and the Korean tourism industry may also have to go through a long time to recover.

Jeju Air: Two days, two incidents, same type of plane, is this a coincidence? Khanh Phạm10:25:19 30/12/2024After the horrific tragedy that claimed the lives of 179 people in Muan on December 29, Jeju Air continued with another worrying incident. Another plane, the same Boeing 737-800 model as the crashed plane, had to make an emergency landing due to a landing gear problem.