Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Approves Korean Air Passenger Aircraft Cargo Transport Expansion Modification Work

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 1st that it has approved the modification work after going through procedures such as verifying the suitability of the modification for domestic airlines struggling due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) that applied to convert idle passenger aircraft for cargo transportation purposes.

This modification approval involves removing seats and changing the cabin floor to load cargo in order to utilize idle passenger aircraft for cargo transportation. Korean Air applied for modification work on one passenger aircraft (B777-300ER) for cargo transportation purposes on the 20th of last month.

The process was carried out after safety verification procedures including technical review by the manufacturer Boeing, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s aviation safety inspector (Seoul Regional Aviation Office) thoroughly inspected the suitability and safety of the modification and approved it.

The cabin seats, including 42 business class seats and 227 economy seats on the B777, were removed, and modifications such as removal of in-flight electrical wiring and installation of floor placards in the cabin were made.

The Ministry expects that with this approval, the modified passenger aircraft can carry approximately 10.8 tons of additional cargo during cargo transportation, which will help improve airline profitability. Overseas, airlines such as British Airways, Air Canada, and Emirates have also improved profitability by modifying passenger aircraft for cargo transportation after technical reviews by manufacturers.

Accordingly, the Ministry plans to actively support some domestic low-cost carriers (LCCs) that plan to transport cargo inside passenger aircraft cabins based on safety operation standards guidelines.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.