Asiana Airlines suspends sale of emergency exit seats

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Asiana Airlines suspends sale of emergency exit seats

On Friday, an Asiana Airlines flight departing from Jeju landed at Daegu International Airport with the emergency exit door open. The photo captures a cabin crew member single-handedly blocking the exit. [NEWS1]

On Friday, an Asiana Airlines flight departing from Jeju landed at Daegu International Airport with the emergency exit door open. The photo captures a cabin crew member single-handedly blocking the exit. [NEWS1]

  
The government launched an investigation into Asiana Airlines, Korea's second-largest airline, to determine whether the company fulfilled safety guidelines following a recent incident when a passenger opened an emergency exit door mid-flight.
 
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will primarily examine the circumstances surrounding the seating assignment of an inappropriate passenger in the emergency exit row, which carries the responsibility of assisting flight attendants during emergencies. It was later found out that the passenger's seat was designated by Asiana Airlines due to the plane's near full capacity.
 
The ministry said Sunday it has dispatched four aviation safety inspectors to Daegu International Airport to check the aircraft's maintenance records, identify any potential irregularities and evaluate the flight attendants' adherence to safety regulations and procedures.
 
A ministry official confirmed that there have been no reported aircraft defects up until now.
 
The incident occurred last Friday on an Asiana Airlines A321-200 plane en route from Jeju to Daegu. A 33-year-old passenger named Lee opened the emergency exit door when the aircraft was approximately 213 meters (698 feet) above ground, just prior to landing. Subsequently, twelve passengers experienced breathing difficulties and were taken to the hospital.
 
It has been revealed that Lee did not originally request the emergency exit seat in question.
 
"At the time, the flight was nearly full, and the only available seats happened to be the emergency exit seats," an Asiana official said. "Consequently, we provided the seat to Lee, who had purchased a regular ticket, without any additional charges."
 
The emergency exit seat, often referred to as a "legroom seat," offers more space and legroom compared to other seats by allowing passengers to stretch their legs comfortably. It has often been preferred by passengers and some are even willing to pay extra to secure these seats.
 
Due to the importance of assisting flight attendants during emergencies, airlines impose restrictions on who can occupy these seats: Passengers under the age of 15, those who cannot communicate in Korean or English, pregnant women and elderly individuals. Notably, Lee is known to be over 180 centimeters tall and weigh over 100 kilograms.
 
Lee earlier explained to the police that he "had been experiencing stress following his recent unemployment" and expressed "feeling uncomfortable," which prompted him to open the door in hopes of disembarking the plane quickly. However, the police have not confirmed any details about his mental health history. 
 
Asiana Airlines stated that they had asked Lee if he wished to take the emergency exit seat and provided a set of rules on the emergency exit row seats.
 
"The emergency exit seating requirements are consistent worldwide across all airlines," emphasized the Asiana official, adding, "It is impossible to determine passengers' mental health conditions or psychiatric history. Accurately assessing their mental state on the spot poses challenges."
 
The incident has shed light on the vulnerability of allowing passengers to occupy emergency exit seats based solely on their consent, without knowledge of their mental state or psychiatric history. 

 
In response, Asiana Airlines stopped selling seats in front of emergency exits on aircraft of the same model, the A321-200, from Sunday.
 
The suspension applies to seat 26A on 11 A321-200 aircraft, which has a total of 174 seats, and seat 31A on three A321-200 aircraft with 195 seats.
 
The passenger involved in the Daegu airport incident was seated in seat 31A of the A321-200 aircraft with 195 seats.
 
Asiana Airlines noted the decision to suspend seat sales is due to “passenger safety considerations.”
 
Even when flights are fully booked, these specific seats will not be available for purchase. The duration of the suspension has not been determined and will remain in effect indefinitely.
 
However, the flag carrier clarified that the suspension only applies to emergency seats on the A321-200 aircraft, the company added. The measure was based on the concern that passengers in those particular seats could reach the emergency exit lever while seated, unlike other aircraft models.
 
"On other aircraft, there is a gap between the emergency exit row and the actual emergency exit, allowing for protective measures in the event of any unusual behavior," the company's spokesperson told the Korea JoongAng Daily. 
 
Additional airlines are joining the initiative to suspend the sale of seats located in front of emergency exits.
 
Air Seoul, a subsidiary budget carrier of Asiana Airlines that operates the A321-200 aircraft, also decided to halt the sale of seats near emergency exits.
 
Other low-cost carriers such as Jin Air and Air Premia are internally reviewing similar measures.
 
Korean Air, on the other hand, said no decision has been made regarding the restriction of selling emergency exit seats. 
 
The decision to suspend the sale of seats in front of emergency exits is at the discretion of each airline and is not mandated by the government. 

BY BAEK KYUNG-SEO,SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]
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