Airborne Meltdown: Korean Passenger’s Outburst Forces Emergency Landing

A female Korean passenger recently caused a disturbance aboard a flight, leading to severe consequences. Not only were the passengers on the plane affected, but also other passengers. Let’s delve into what happened.

A Polish plane, which was supposed to arrive at Incheon International Airport at 9:30 a.m. on the 23rd after departing from Budapest, Hungary, made an emergency landing at Astana Airport in Kazakhstan due to a Korean female passenger causing a disturbance onboard.

The female passenger caused a ruckus onboard, hurling insults at the flight attendants and other passengers. In the released video, the woman can be seen yelling obscenities loudly. Other passengers are caught trying to restrain her, but she continues to scream and curse.

At the time, the woman was traveling with her family. She caused a disturbance for about three hours on the plane. Eventually, after the emergency landing, she was arrested by local police in Kazakhstan.

The plane that made an emergency landing at Astana Airport in Kazakhstan was stationary for nearly five hours before it took off again for Incheon. The aircraft had 183 passengers onboard.

The family of one passenger said, “We were apprehensive since we had things to take care of when we arrived in Korea…we were anxious that we would be stuck there again.” Another Korean passenger on the same plane said, “Despite the flight attendants’ efforts, the disturbance and cursing continued for over three hours, which was very perplexing.”

The other passengers also suffered due to the disturbance caused by the Korean woman. The plane, which was supposed to depart from Budapest at 3:55 p.m. local time and arrive in Incheon at 10 a.m., came much later than expected.

The consulate is cooperating with local police to understand the details of the incident.

When the news broke, netizens had harsh words to share.

Netizens said, “I hope she is punished according to local law. It’s embarrassing that such a person speaks Korean,” “As a Korean, I apologize again. Suppose there is a violation of the law. In that case, I want severe punishment,” “She threatened the safety of many people, so she should be severely punished,” “She unimaginably disgraced our country,” and so on.

This is not the first time a Korean passenger has caused a disturbance on a plane. As such incidents have occurred several times, there have been calls for stricter punishment for plane disturbances.

Last June, a law was proposed to strengthen punishment for passengers who cause disturbances or commotions on planes. Cho O Sup, a member of the National Assembly from the Democratic Party, proposed the Aviation Security Act amendment.

The amendment strengthens the punishment for violating prohibited acts on an aircraft to imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to $42,000.

Recently, there have been incidents of Koreans causing disturbances overseas, not just on planes. During Thailand’s biggest festival, Songkran, two men were caught in lewd acts. Both were identified as Koreans.

Local media released a video of the men engaging in lewd acts. They were in a place where tents were set up, and they ignored the passers-by. The video also shows security personnel trying to restrain them.

Local police are investigating. According to the relevant law, they could be punished with imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of up to $150.

However, according to immigration police, the two men have already left Thailand.

In November last year, a Korean man who traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand, was arrested by local police after smoking and causing a disturbance. The man damaged a car on a residential street. According to local police, the man showed signs of hallucinations when arrested, including taking off his clothes. He was found to have several bags containing marijuana.

The man admitted to smoking marijuana. In Thailand, marijuana is legal, so he was only charged for damaging the car and was released after paying a fine.

While marijuana is legal in Thailand, it is illegal in Korea. A Korean who uses drugs overseas can be punished in Korea. However, the man was not punished when he returned to Korea because no report was filed.