- A Jeju Air plane crashed on Sunday, killing 179 people. The CEO addressed reporters on Tuesday.
- Its CEO, Kim E-bae, outlined how the airline plans to regain trust after the catastrophic crash.
- He apologized, pledged compensation for victims, and announced scheduling changes focused on safety.
The CEO of Jeju Air addressed reporters on Tuesday, outlining how the airline plans to recover from the catastrophic crash that killed 179 people.
Kim E-bae announced measures he hoped would steady the firm in its deepest crisis, in the face of intense anger from victims’ families.
Jeju’s flight 7C2216 crash-landed on Sunday, hitting a barrier and bursting into flames after touching down without its landing gear.
All but two of the 181 people on board died, making it South Korea’s worst-ever air disaster. The cause is still being investigated.
Chris Jung/NurPhoto via Getty Images
An airline in crisis
Jeju’s shares tanked by 16% on the news, touching a record low on Monday. They rallied a little to close 8.7% lower before South Korean markets closed for the New Year.
Passengers began mass-canceling tickets, with at least 68,000 in a day.
On Tuesday, Kim held a press conference in Seoul and apologized, saying he knew Jeju had a huge task to regain fliers’ trust.
The BBC covered and translated the press conference.
Kim gave some new information about Flight 7C2216, though he said the answer for why it crashed would have to wait for the formal investigation.
He said the pre-flight inspection of the Beong 737-800 showed nothing “abnormal” about the plane or the landing gear.
He also cited the airline’s safety policies, saying all flights require sign-off from maintenance crews and that pilots are trained to high standards.
Full responsibility
He said Jeju would take full responsibility for addressing the disaster, a notable pledge since nobody has formally determined Jeju to be at fault.
Kim addressed the cancelations and said he knew they would continue until passengers had confidence in Jeju again.
He also said the airline would offer onsite support at Muan International Airport for the grieving families gathered there, and prepare an emergency compensation package.
He also said Jeju staff, too, would receive support to help them mourn their colleagues.
At an earlier press event on Sunday, Kim apologized for the disaster and said the company’s top priority was to support the families, per BBC News.
Schedule changes, emphasis on safety
Kim said on Tuesday that Jeju would trim its schedules to give it more scope to focus on safety, decreasing air traffic by 10 to 15% until March.
Kim said the reduction did not mean Jeju was running too many planes beforehand.
Kim told reporters that even though Jeju Air has received the most fines of any Korean airline, its safety record improved over the years.
He said the airline increased its number of maintenance personnel since 2019.
Dodging questions
Kim avoided directly answering a question about the barrier near the end of the runway that the plane hit.
Safety experts have focused on it as a possible reason the crash was so deadly.
Todd Curtis, founder of Air Safe Media, told CNBC of the barrier: “Certainly that made it difficult to stop the aircraft safely.”
It could take investigators weeks, months, or even longer to uncover the exact cause of the crash.
A team of US National Transportation Safety Board and Boeing officials are supporting the South Korean authorities with the investigation.
