The runway at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province, where operations of Jeju Air were suspended due to the passenger plane disaster, will remain closed until mid-April.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport noted on the 18th that "the runway closure period will be extended by three months until 5 a.m. on April 18 (Korea Standard Time) for follow-up measures related to the Jeju Air passenger plane accident that occurred at Muan Airport."
Muan Airport has only one runway, so operations cannot continue when the runway is closed.
This runway was temporarily closed from the day of the accident on the 29th of last month until the morning of the 1st of this month, and the closure period has been extended three times until the morning of the 19th.
It appears that the closure period has been extended because debris remains at the accident site and an investigation into the cause is ongoing.
The runway is expected to reopen after the on-site investigation is completed and the airport facilities damaged in the accident are restored.
As a result of this closure extension, JIN AIR's Boeing 737-800 passenger plane (HL8012) will remain stuck at Muan Airport for a while longer. This aircraft arrived from Taipei, Taiwan, just before the Jeju Air incident and is unable to move due to the runway closure.
The ministry said, "At this point, the timeline for resuming airport operations is fluid, but we plan to promptly implement necessary measures to ensure safe and normal airport operations in the future."