Korean Air fined 10 million won after Tokyo arrivals mistakenly routed to Gimpo's domestic terminal

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has fined Korean Air 10 million won ($7,400) for disembarking international passengers at Gimpo International Airport's domestic terminal, where they walked in among domestic arrivals without clearing immigration.

Passengers on flight KE2106, which arrived at Gimpo in western Seoul from Haneda Airport in Tokyo on June 7, were split among several ramp buses, the shuttles that run between the terminal and the aircraft stands, to be taken to the international terminal. One bus took 52 of them to the domestic terminal instead, industry sources said Tuesday.

The passengers did not realize where they were and mixed with domestic arrivals from other airlines as they walked into the building.

“It has been confirmed that the ground handler's ramp bus driver was mistaken and took a route that did not follow international arrival procedures,” Korean Air said. “As soon as we became aware of this, we worked through the necessary steps with the relevant airport authorities so that immigration screening could be carried out for those passengers.”

Four of the 52 left the airport without being screened but came back later to complete entry procedures, industry sources said.

The ministry treated the episode as a breach of aviation security rules in imposing the fine.

“We recognize the seriousness of this matter,” Korean Air said. “We are reviewing our on-site operating procedures again and are thoroughly examining and carrying out the steps needed to prevent a similar issue from recurring.”

BY SHIN HYE-YEON [[email protected]]