Home > National > Social Affairs

All flights to be grounded for 35 minutes Thursday during CSAT English section

Published: 11 Nov. 2025, 12:52

Jin Air and Korean Air planes parked at Incheon International Airport on July 13. [YONHAP]

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Tuesday that all domestic and international flights will be grounded nationwide for 35 minutes on Thursday, the day of the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT), during the English listening comprehension section.

Takeoffs and landings will be suspended from 1:05 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. to prevent aircraft noise, which could interfere with students taking the exam. This includes five minutes before and after the test.

During this period, all non-emergency aircraft will be prohibited from taking off, and planes already in the air must maintain an altitude of at least 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) while in holding patterns.

A total of 140 flights — 65 international and 75 domestic — will be rescheduled to accommodate the measure. Airlines are expected to notify passengers of the changes in advance.

The Seoul Regional Office of Aviation under the Transport Ministry will also activate warning alerts on the Drone One-Stop Civil Service website and the Ultra-Light Vehicle One-Stop Civil Service system to inform the public of the no-fly zone.

“We ask that passengers check their flight times on the day of the CSAT, and that the public cooperate with noise control measures, including a ban on drone flights,” said Joo Jong-wan, director general for aviation policy at the ministry.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY BAEK MIN-JEONG [[email protected]]