Mid-Flight Incident Leads Asiana Airlines to Suspend Sale of Emergency Exit Seats

Asiana Airlines made the decision to suspend the selling of tickets for seats near the aircraft’s emergency exit doors. This comes after a passenger suddenly unlocked the hatch while the plane was in mid-air.

As per The Korea Economic Daily, since the incident last week, Asiana Airlines has been working on safety measures to prevent a similar situation. The airline ultimately decided to stop the sale of seats by the emergency exit door.

The halt took effect starting Sunday, May 28, and the discontinued seats are the 26A in the 11 units of A321-200 Airbus planes with 174 seats and the 31A seats in three units of the same A321-200 aircraft but with 195 seats.

It was on Friday, May 26, when a passenger, that was only identified as Mr. Lee, carelessly opened the emergency exit door when the Asiana Airlines aircraft was landing but still 213 meters above the ground. The landing area was at Daegu International Airport, and fortunately, none of the passengers fell out of the plane.

However, nine passengers were brought to a hospital after they showed signs of shortness of breath after they panicked. The culprit was said to have sat at the 31A seat of Asiana Airline’s 195-seat plane.

The authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Lee after he violated the aviation security law in the country. They also mentioned the seriousness of what he had done since his action endangered many lives. Under the law, a passenger who steers the doors, emergency exits, or other devices in the aircraft may face imprisonment of up to 10 years, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Finally, when questioned about the incident, Mr. Lee told the police officers that he had recently lost his job, and this stressed him out. He further explained that he unlocked the emergency exit because he wanted to get off the plane quickly after feeling suffocated.

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