Korean Air announced it would increase its refund penalties for late cancellations after three K-pop fans caused a flight to be delayed. South Korea's flagship airline wants to stop desperate K-pop fans buying expensive tickets just to get close to their idols, and when they take pictures of them, they'll eventually cancel their flight.
Three Wanna One fans, one from Hong Kong and two from China, booked a Seoul-bound flight in Hong Kong just to take pictures of their idols. After taking photos, the three demanded they're allowed to disembark minutes before the take-off, and they should be given a refund. The boy band performed at the 2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong last Friday.
The incident happened on December 15, causing the flight to be delayed by almost an hour. The three fans surrounded Wanna One while waving their posters as soon as the boy band boarded the flight. They reportedly ignored the request of the cabin crew to take their seats, so the other 360 passengers were forced to leave the plane along with their carry-on luggage. They had to go back through security screening since it is a legal requirement when passengers disembark voluntarily.
An official from the Korean Air said there were some passengers who are falsely checking in on flights to see celebrities. Now, the airline has decided to increase refund penalties starting January, wherein passengers who cancel international flights after passing through the departure gate need to pay an additional fine of 200,000 won (US$177), the South China Morning Post reported.
According to the Korean Air, they have already encountered 35 similar incidents over the past year, but they believed the incidents rise to over a hundred if other South Korean airlines were included. A spokesman of the airlines said there are several cases wherein fans buy expensive tickets with better rebate terms, and then they'll demand a refund. However, it's the first time fans got on the plane and asked to leave just before the take-off.
Buying expensive and fully refundable tickets allow fans to get access to exclusive airport facilities, increasing their chances of getting close to celebrities and take pictures of them to sell the images online.
At the moment, Korean Air is imposing minor penalties on passengers who make last-minute cancellations. The "no-show" penalties of the airline range from about 120,000 won (US$105) for longer flights, while about 50,000 won (US$45) won for shorter flights to countries like China and Japan.
