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.
Asiana to sue Heathrow for delayed departure
Airplane stopped by British police in manhunt for suspected thief
By Lee Hyo-sik
Asiana Airlines said it will sue the operator of London’s Heathrow Airport and the British police stationed there after one of its passenger airplanes was raided and searched shortly before departure in a failed manhunt for a suspected thief.
The sudden, unprecedented stop and search forced the aircraft to depart over an hour later than scheduled, causing a great deal of inconvenience to passengers.
According to Asiana officials, the British police halted and searched its aircraft on April 30 after a Brazilian man had filed a complaint that one of the passengers onboard Asiana Airlines’ flight OZ522 might have stolen his wallet. But no one was identified as a thief among the passengers, the company said, stressing that such an incident had never happened before and unthinkable that it did.
“It doesn’t make sense that they stop a passenger airplane for more than one hour because of a theft that took place at a duty-free shop,” said Cho Won-yong, senior vice president of Asiana. “We will take all legal action after consulting our lawyers.”
Asiana Airlines’ flight OZ522 with 289 passengers onboard was scheduled to take off from Heathrow at 9 p.m. on April 30 and arrive at Incheon International Airport 3:50 p.m. on May 1.
But it was ordered to stop by British police immediately after leaving a departure terminal for takeoff. Police said they needed to search for a Korean woman who might be involved in a theft.
Earlier, a Brazilian man came to the departure gate half an hour before take-off, asking airline officials to find a Korean woman allegedly spotted taking his wallet by a duty-free shop employee.
Search in vain
The Brazilian even tried to board the airplane to find the suspect. But the officials stopped him from doing so, saying that getting onto a plane without a boarding pass violated security regulations.
Instead, Asiana suggested he searched for the suspect by himself among the waiting passengers and made an in-flight announcement four times, asking a person who might have taken the wallet to come forward.
When the alleged suspect was not found, the departure gate was closed and the aircraft prepared to take off as scheduled at 9 p.m.
But as soon as the plane moved onto the runaway, the British police ordered it to return, claiming that it had an accurate description of the alleged thief from the witness
Asiana officials said the pilot had to stop the plane as ordered by the control tower.
Police officers then boarded the plane with the duty-free shop employee and searched for the suspect for one and a half hours. But their search came to no avail.
“It is absurd for British police to stop the airplane, which was about to take off, without concrete evidence to support the Brazilian’s allegation. It caused a great deal of inconvenience to 289 passengers onboard. We have never experienced such an incident since the company was founded in 1988,” an Asiana Airlines spokesman said.
He said the airline sent a letter of protest to the British Airports Authority (BAA) that operates the Heathrow airport, adding it demanded that the British police prevent a repeat of such an incident in the future.
“We will also consider taking legal action against BAA and the British police. But we will first have to find out whether their procedure violated relevant international laws,” the spokesman said.
Comments from Heathrow airport officials were not immediately available.
By Lee Hyo-sik
아시아나 항공 비행 지연시킨 런던 히드로 공항과 영국 경찰 고소할 것
영국 경찰이 구체적인 물증도 없이 승객 중 지갑을 훔친 사람이 있는 것 같다는 진술만으로 이륙 직전인 한국 여객기를 세우고 기내를 수색했다. 항공사 측은 "있을 수 없는 일"이라며 법적 대응을 검토하고 있다.
4일 아시아나항공에 따르면 이 항공사의 OZ522편은 지난달 30일 오후 9시 런던 히드로 공항을 이륙해 이달 1일 오후 3시50분 인천공항에 도착할 예정이었다.
그런데 출발 30분전께 브라질 국적의 남성 B씨가 OZ522편 탑승구에서 "공항 면세점에서 지갑을 잃어버렸는데 직원이 `한국여성이 가지고 갔다`고 했다"며 지갑을 가져간 여성을 찾아달라고 했다.
아시아나 측은 B씨에게 직접 탑승 대기 중인 손님을 둘러보고 찾을 것을 요구했고 B씨는 면세점 직원과 함께 승객을 둘러봤으나 지갑을 가져간 사람을 찾지 못했다.
B씨는 항공기에 탑승해 지갑을 찾겠다고 했으나 아시아나 측은 보안규정에 어긋난다며 거부하고 대신 "면세점에서 지갑을 습득한 분을 찾는다"는 기내방송을 4차례 했다.
기내방송에도 대답하는 사람이 없고 면세점 직원 역시 지갑을 가져간 사람이 누구인지 정확히 알지 못하겠다고 하자 아시아나는 OZ522편의 문을 닫았다.
그러나 OZ522편이 탑승 게이트를 벗어나 활주로에 진입했을 때 영국 경찰이 아시아나 측에 비행기를 되돌리라고 요구했다.
아시아나 측은 "B씨와 면세점 직원이 탑승 중인 손님을 확인했고 기내방송도 했는데 무슨 근거로 이미 출발한 항공기를 되돌리라고 하는가. 이는 매우 중대한 문제이며 절대 불가하다"고 반발했다.
그러나 영국 경찰은 "확실한 증인이 있고 도난 사건을 조사할 필요가 있다"며 막무가내였다고 아시아나측은 전했다.
OZ522편이 활주로에서 벗어나 별도의 주기장에 도착하자 영국 경찰은 면세점 직원과 함께 비행기에 올라타 기내를 수색했지만 지갑을 가져간 사람을 찾지 못했다. 얼굴을 기억하고 있다던 면세점 직원 역시 용의자가 누구인지 지목하지 못했다.
영국 경찰은 1시간20분 동안 기내를 수색하고도 범인을 찾지 못하자 결국 이륙을 허가할 수밖에 없었다. 물증도 없이 면세점 직원의 증언만 믿고 비행기를 돌리게 한 영국 경찰의 지나친 대처에 애꿎은 승객 289명만 피해를 입은 셈이다.
아시아나측은 영국 공항공단에 공식 항의서한을 발송하고 영국 경찰에 재발 방지를 요구했다.
아시아나 관계자는 "현지 공항의 영국인 조업사들조차 승객이 지갑을 훔쳤다고 비행기를 돌리게 한 경우는 보지 못했다고 한다"며 "영국 공항공단과 경찰의 국제법 위반 여부를 따져보고 법적대응을 검토하겠다"고 밝혔다.