Seoul: T'way Air Co., Jeju Air Co., and Korean Air Co. have been fined a total of 3.54 billion won (US$2.6 million) by the transport ministry for breaching aviation maintenance regulations.
According to Yonhap News Agency, T'way Air received the largest penalty, amounting to 2.6 billion won. The violations included neglecting to adhere to maintenance manuals, such as omitting hydraulic fluid tests. The airline also manipulated maintenance records and disregarded inspection intervals prescribed by Boeing for three of its B737-800 aircraft.
Jeju Air was fined 800 million won due to overdue maintenance checks and failure to follow correct engine troubleshooting procedures for two of its B737-800 airplanes.
Korean Air incurred a 133 million won fine for improper maintenance of flap systems on its A330-300 models, resulting in the suspension of two engineers for 15 days each.
A ministry official stated, "To ensure airlines do not neglect investments in aviation safety, we will continue to strengthen oversight across all aspects of maintenance and operations."