Korean Air to charge extra fees for last-minute flight cancellation

South Korea’s biggest full-service carrier Korean Air Lines Co. will start levying extra fine of 200,000 won ($176.93) on last-minute cancellations from Jan. 1 after a group of fans caused a racket and delayed a flight for nearly an hour by demanding to leave the plane after some private moment with star passengers.

The airline announced Tuesday that it will charge extra penalty of 200,000 won for passengers who cancel a flight after boarding, in addition to its current fee of 120,000 won for long-haul flights, 70,000 won for mid-haul and 50,000 won for short-haul.

According to sources, three fans of a Korean boy band got on a Seoul-bound flight at Hong Kong International Airport to meet the members of the K-pop group on the same flight in person, but abruptly demanded to get off the plane just minutes before the take-off and asked for refunds. The 360 passengers including the boy band members had to disembark and go through security checks again, causing a serious delay.

The nation’s flag carrier said there are an increasing number of people who take advantage of its refund policy and low cancellation fees to cancel flights just right before take-off. It said there are on average 35 such cases a year.

[ⓒ Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]