Korean Air to Deny Flight Reservations and Boarding for 'Mask Refusal and Disruptive Behavior'

Refusal to Wear Mask and Disorderly Conduct Leads to Police Handover → Flight Booking and Boarding Denied

On the 18th, passengers wore masks at the Korean Air check-in counter in the domestic terminal of Gimpo Airport, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. Korean Air will enforce mandatory mask-wearing for domestic passengers starting today to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Korean Air has established strong response procedures to refuse flight reservations and boarding for customers who refuse to wear masks or engage in abusive language or violence, in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Korean Air announced on the 8th that it has established response procedures for passengers who continuously refuse to wear masks as part of the integrated quarantine program Care First, launched last August. Korean Air is the first national airline to prepare such detailed procedures.

With these response procedures, Korean Air can refuse boarding to passengers who refuse to wear masks before boarding. Furthermore, passengers who refuse to wear masks after boarding and engage in abusive language or violence will be warned and handed over to the police for violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act and the Aviation Security Act. In particular, such passengers may also be refused future reservations and boarding on Korean Air.

However, infants under 24 months, passengers who find it difficult to remove masks by themselves without assistance, and passengers who have difficulty breathing while wearing masks are exempt from the mandatory mask-wearing requirement.

Korean Air plans to strengthen prior notifications by adding mandatory mask-wearing notices to e-ticket usage guidance emails to prevent passenger inconvenience due to these measures.

South Korea implemented mandatory mask-wearing for airline passengers starting at midnight on May 27, but there have been no actual cases of boarding refusal due to mask-wearing violations. Korean Air stated, "The preparation of such detailed procedures is the first among national airlines and is a measure to protect the safety and health of all customers and employees from COVID-19."

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