Incidents of manipulating emergency exits on aircraft continue, including a passenger in his 60s who was booked by police for touching an emergency exit handle cover while the plane was waiting after landing.
According to the airline industry on the 23rd, at about 9:45 a.m. on the 17th, on an AIR BUSAN aircraft that arrived at Gimhae International Airport, a passenger in his 60s, identified as A, was subdued by a flight attendant after manipulating the emergency exit handle cover. The passenger jet was on the ground and waiting at the time.
A said in a police interview that the cover was touched out of curiosity and as a prank, but police are investigating on suspicion of violating the Aviation Security Act.
Such behavior has occurred frequently in recent days. On the 4th, on a Korean Air flight from Incheon to Sydney, a passenger caused controversy by reacting nonchalantly, saying "I just touched it," after being stopped from touching the emergency exit. In the first half of this year alone, similar cases at Korean flag carriers have exceeded 10.
In the past, many cases ended with a warning, but since the emergency exit opening incident over Daegu Airport in May 2023 involving Asiana Airlines, airlines and police have applied a very strict standard. Under the current Aviation Security Act, manipulating a door or exit can be punished with imprisonment of up to 10 years without a fine option, making the penalties very severe.
However, because the current law provides only imprisonment as the sole penalty, there has been criticism of a side effect in which, for minor cases with no actual harm, courts are reluctant to hand down prison terms and instead impose lighter outcomes such as suspending indictment.
Accordingly, there have been steady calls for urgent institutional fixes to enhance the law's effectiveness. A bill to amend the Aviation Security Act is currently before the National Assembly to allow fines of up to 1 billion won even for minor manipulation.