Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
Foreign airlines safety records available
By Lee Hyo-sik
Many Korean travelers these days are tempted to fly with foreign air carriers to Southeast Asia and other overseas destinations, attracted by cheaper ticket prices. But they may hesitate due to safety considerations.
To ease concerns among Korean passengers, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs has been making public the safety records of not only budget carriers, but also large foreign airline firms operating routes between Incheon and other airports in their home countries.
The ministry said Wednesday that a website (aviation.mltm.go.kr) has recently been updated with the latest safety-related information on 62 non-Korean air carriers, including flight delay and cancelation rates as well as accident records. The website was launched in April.
It offers a list of foreign airline companies involved in fatal accidents here since October 2007, as well as the delay and cancelation rates from October 2009 through September this year. The site also provides the reports of safety assessments by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the International Civil Aviation Organization.
“We think that by making the up-to-date safety-related information on foreign carriers readily available for the public, it helps Korean travelers choose safe and reliable airlines when they travel overseas. The Korean government will strengthen a safety oversight of non-Korean carriers involved in serious accidents,” a ministry official said.
He also said the government will keep a close eye on those delaying and canceling flights due to mechanical malfunctioning and other problems.
The ministry said earlier that Finnair, Finland’s largest airline and flag carrier, saw 1.5 percent of its flights to and from Korea delayed or canceled, the highest among foreign airlines flying to Korea.
About 1.16 percent of flights by the U.S.-based Delta Air Lines and Russia’s Aeroflot were either delayed or canceled here.
Air Canada, Vladivostok Air and Qatar Airways also posted relatively high flight delay and cancelation rates.
By Lee Hyo-sik
외국항공사 안전기록 볼 수 있다
많은 한국인 여행자들은 요즈음 보다 싼 비행기표 요금 때문에 동남아와 다른 지역으로 가는 외국항공기를 이용하려는 유혹에 빠지지만 안전문제로 인해 망설일지도 모른다.
이런 한국승객들의 우려를 지우기 위해 국토해양부는 저가 항공사뿐 아니라 인천공항과 다른 외국공항을 운항하는 대형 외국항공사의 안전기록을 공개해 왔다.
국토해양부는 27일 부처 웹사이트를 62개 외국항공사의 사고 기록은 물론 운항 지연, 운항 취소율을 포함한 가장 최신의 안전관련 정보로 갱신했다고 밝혔다. 국토해양부는 이 웹사이트를 지난 4월 개장했다.
이 최신 정보는 2007년 10월 이후 한국에서 큰 사고를 일으킨 외국항공사 명단과 미국연방항공국과, 국제민간항공기구의 안전평가보고서를 함께 제공하고 있다.
국토해양부의 한 관계자는 “최신 안전관련 정보를 공개하는 것은 한국 여행객들이 해외여행을 할 때 안전하고 믿을 수 있는 항공사를 선택하는데 큰 도움을 주고 있다” 면서 “정부는 사고에 연루된 외국항공사에 대한 안전 감시를 강화할 것”이라고 말했다.