On the morning of December 29, a Jeju Air (South Korea) plane crashed while making a belly landing, skidded off the runway, crashed into a fence and caught fire at Muan International Airport, South Korea. As a result, 179 people were confirmed dead out of a total of 181 passengers and crew members.

The Jeju Air plane departed from Bangkok, Thailand. According to South Korean media, the accident occurred after the first attempt to land failed because the plane's landing gear did not deploy. The plane may have hit a bird while descending.

Jeju Air changes Korean aviation, boosts tourism

Founded in 2005, Jeju Air is the first and largest low-cost airline in Korea. In terms of the entire market, Jeju Air is second only to the national airline Korean Air in size.

Before the tragic incident, it was the most popular airline in the land of kimchi due to its low fares. Jeju Air made air travel easier for the people of this country. The airline contributed to promoting tourism in Korea, especially tourism to Jeju Island.

According to JoongAng Daily , Jeju Air operates 41 aircraft, including 39 narrow-body Boeing 737-800s. The airline operates dozens of routes, with many destinations in Asia-Pacific, especially East Asia and Southeast Asia.

In Vietnam, Jeju Air has flights to Hanoi, Da Nang, Nha Trang, Da Lat, and Phu Quoc.

The crashed plane was a Boeing 737-800, manufactured in November 2009, and operated by Jeju Air since February 2017.

Newsis reported that the Jeju Air flight was carrying many tourists returning from a Christmas trip to Bangkok. The Muan-Bangkok route operates seasonally, from around early December to March of the following year.

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Authorities survey the scene of the Jeju Air plane crash at Muan International Airport on December 29. Photo: Yonhap

Since its establishment, Jeju Air has always been oriented as a low-cost airline for the masses and focused on domestic flights, especially to Jeju Island. This largest island in Korea welcomes more than 13 million visitors each year. To attract foreign visitors, citizens of more than 180 countries, including Vietnam, are subject to a special visa exemption policy.

Jeju Air has not had any fatal accidents in the past. In 2023, Jeju Air recorded a problem on a flight from Sapporo (Japan) to Seoul and had to return to the departure location.

After 20 years, Jeju Air now has about 3,000 employees and operates hundreds of flights every day.

How is Jeju Air after the disaster?

According to JoongAng Daily, the crashed plane was insured for up to $1 billion.

Jeju Air CEO Kim E-bae said the airline is committed to "spending no expense to support and compensate the victims and their families" based on a $1 billion insurance package.

Meanwhile, Jeju Air's Group Manager Song Kyung-hoon said that Jeju Air is committed to providing options such as refunds or cancellations for upcoming flights, depending on passengers' needs.

In the last trading session of the week (December 27) before the accident, Jeju Air shares fell 1.2% to 8,210 won (equivalent to 5.56 USD). The market capitalization reached nearly 450 million USD. In the new week, Jeju Air shares may fall sharply.

In the past, many airlines have seen their stocks plummet after plane crashes. However, the declines have not been as steep and most stocks have recovered.

MAS shares of Malaysia Airlines alone plummeted after two plane crashes in 2014 (the MH17 crash while flying over eastern Ukraine in mid-July 2014 and the MH370 crash with 239 people on board in early March 2014 on its way from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing, China).

Malaysia Airlines also faced bankruptcy for a long time due to its obligation to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation to the victims' families amid financial difficulties many years before.

What has caused Malaysia Airlines to struggle is two consecutive catastrophic accidents that have made customers not want to fly with MAS because of fear of bad luck.

For Jeju Air, the situation seems less negative, as this is the first fatal accident for the airline. Jeju Air has a large insurance package, with a positive business. Jeju Air will have revenue of $1.3 billion in 2023 and an estimated $1.5 billion in 2024.

Boeing plane door opens in the sky, dark storms hit the American giant . American aircraft manufacturer Boeing fell into trouble again when the 737 MAX 9 door opened in the sky, causing its stock price to plummet. It is worth mentioning that this type of plane has caused trouble for Boeing before.