At around 10 a.m. today (April 24), KBS Jeju received a call saying, “The area around Jeju International Airport is paralyzed due to a charter bus.”
Traffic around the airport is stagnant and cars are not moving. What happened?
Traffic jam for a charter bus waiting for a school trip…”Due to a delayed flight”
When we went to the scene, we found that dozens of charter buses were lined up on the roads around Jeju Airport, preventing other cars from getting out. The airport parking lot was also full.
“It took us two and a half hours just to get into the airport,” sighed one driver we spoke to.
The waiting charter buses were booked by other local school groups and were staying around the airport because there was no room in the parking lot.
‘DELAYED’ is displayed on an electronic board announcing flight arrivals and departures at Jeju Airport this morning.
According to the Jeju Island Tourism Organization, the number of school groups traveling to Jeju has increased significantly in recent years, and this morning’s congestion has been repeated안전놀이터.
On this particular day, there were 27 school groups traveling to Jeju Airport, which means there are about 10 cars waiting for 400 students per school.
But today’s congestion was worse than usual, airport officials explained, because flights were not arriving on time, causing delays.
In fact, as of 3 p.m. today, 110 arriving flights and 96 departing flights scheduled to arrive at Jeju Airport were delayed.
■ “It took a long time to inspect sprays in luggage”
Why were flights delayed when there was no weather advisory?
When we asked Korea Airlines for the reason for the delay, they said, “At Gimpo Airport, a school trip group checked a fire hazardous spray into their checked baggage, and it took a lot of time for the staff to open and inspect it one by one.”
Since there is a limit to the number of overhead bins on the plane, the guiding teachers instructed the students to check in as much as possible, and in the process, an overwhelming number of chemical sprays were found that should not be checked in.
A school trip group arriving at Jeju Airport this afternoon.
In the case of hairspray, it is prohibited on international flights in most countries due to the risk of fire from an explosion, while domestic flights only allow one 500ml bottle per person in carry-on and checked baggage when it is a household item.
Thousands of passengers at Gimpo and Jeju airports were also affected by delays on the day as the students’ sprays held up flights.