"5h to get to Cheju" … Forced to operate even in heavy rain = Korea

A South Korean airline was forced to operate despite heavy rain on Children's Day, and there was a situation where it stayed in the sky for about 5 hours. Some passengers made it clear that they wanted to disembark, but the airline was unable to allow it.

According to a media outlet on May 10th, Passenger A boarded the Cheju Island flight with his 90-year-old mother at Cheongju Airport on the 5th, Children's Day holiday. The plane landed at Jeju airport about 5 hours later.

The aircraft, which took off around 1:00 pm, circled for about 30 minutes due to rain after arriving over Cheju Island. After three unsuccessful attempts to land, the plane returned to Cheongju Airport.

In an interview with the media, A said, "The plane shook a lot while trying to land and people shouted when it rose vertically. Young children were crying because they were scared" and complained about the situation at the time, saying that "when we returned to Cheongju Airport and landed, we all thought we could get off, but the plane doors did not open."

A continued, "The flight attendant came out and said that they would depart to Cheju Island again. I was scared and worried about my mother, so I showed my intention to get off, and I remember that a family with a small child also protested."

"We were told that if some of the passengers got off and departed again, the rest of the passengers would have to go through the security check again. So the plane took off again."

After that, the aircraft headed for Cheju Island again and landed safely on Cheju Island around 6:30 pm after three attempts to land.

In connection with this, an official from the Airline said, "We did not cancel the flight because the headquarters and the pilot agreed that it was possible to land."