Korean and European airlines hit by flight delays in 2024 over Ukraine war, busy skies

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Korean and European airlines hit by flight delays in 2024 over Ukraine war, busy skies

Published: 29 May. 2025, 11:34

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Delay notices are seen on an electric display at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport on Jan. 15. [YONHAP]

Punctuality on international routes operated by domestic airlines declined last year, while many European carriers also struggled to stay on schedule due to increased flight volumes and disruptions linked to the war in Ukraine, according to government data released Thursday.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport on Thursday released the results of its “2024 Air Transport Service Evaluation,” which assessed 53 airlines, including 10 Korean carriers and 43 foreign airlines for their operational reliability, passenger protection, safety and customer satisfaction.

Among domestic airlines, international on-time performance declined for Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Aero K, Air Seoul, Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air and T’way Air. Air Seoul, in particular, dropped four notches from a B grade, “good,” in 2023 to a D++, “poor,” in 2024.

By contrast, Air Busan, which primarily operates international routes out of regional airports, maintained its A+ grade, “excellent,” from the previous year. Among foreign airlines, 12 — including All Nippon Airways (ANA) and Qatar Airways — also received A grades or higher.

“Due to the increased number of flights, congestion at airports and in the airspace and delayed connecting flights due to poor maintenance, both domestic and foreign airlines seem to have somewhat reduced their punctuality,” said a Transport Ministry official.

Airports with heavy traffic, like Incheon International Airport, faced longer runway queues due to limited airspace and runway slots, resulting in frequent delays for both departures and arrivals. These delays then had a domino effect, pushing back turnaround times for return flights — leading to the all-too-familiar announcement: “This flight is delayed due to a late-arriving aircraft.”

Airplanes are seen at a runway at Incheon International Airport on June 27, 2024. [NEWS1]

Among foreign carriers, European airlines such as Lufthansa, rated E++, “poor,” and Air France, D+, “fair,” saw particularly high rates of delays. The ministry noted that these airlines faced restricted air routes due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Domestically, Korean Air, Asiana, Air Busan and Aero K maintained top-tier punctuality at A grade or above, while Jeju Air, T’way Air and Air Seoul received B grades.

In the “passenger protection” category, which measures how well airlines address passenger grievances and implement dispute resolutions, all domestic carriers received A grades. Among foreign carriers, however, China’s Lucky Air and Malaysia Airlines were rated D, or “poor.”

As for safety, Asiana, Aero K, Air Busan, Air Seoul, Jin Air and Korean Air all received A grades or higher. However, T’way Air and Jeju Air received E, “very poor,” and F, “extremely poor,” grades, respectively, due to recent incidents.

Passengers wait for delayed flights at Jeju International Airport on May 9. [NEWS1]

Jeju Air’s rating reflects a major safety incident at Muan International Airport late last year, while T’way’s score was affected by multiple fines related to procedural violations.

In the airport evaluations, six airports — Gimpo, Gimhae, Daegu, Incheon, Jeju and Cheongju — were assessed. Gimpo, Gimhae and Incheon airports received A grades in all three areas assessed: processing speed, baggage handling accuracy and passenger convenience.

“In addition to the safety of airlines, we will further enhance the evaluation by reflecting the delay rate and delay time of airlines starting from the 2025 evaluation, taking into account the social demand for punctuality and airport speed,” said Park Joon-sang, director of the aviation industry division of the Transport Ministry.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KANG KAP-SAENG [[email protected]]