'11-Hour Delay' T'way Osaka Route Passengers File Group Lawsuit of 152 People

Mental damages and certain delays causing economic losses too
Claim for compensation exceeding 90 million won

Last month, 152 passengers who suffered damages due to an 11-hour delay in the departure of T'way Air's Osaka, Japan route are taking legal action.

According to the industry on the 15th, 152 passengers on flight TW284 from Osaka to Incheon, which used the same aircraft as flight TW283 from Incheon to Osaka, plan to file a lawsuit against T'way Air on the 16th seeking approximately 90 million KRW in damages.

On the 13th of last month, both flights were delayed by about 11 hours due to a fuel pump malfunction. Flight TW283, originally scheduled to depart Incheon Airport at 12:05 PM, was delayed by 11 hours. Of the 310 passengers, 204 gave up on traveling, and some passengers waiting for a long time on board suffered from breathing difficulties and collapsed. Passengers who proceeded to Japan also experienced inconveniences such as canceling their local schedules.

Attorney Kim Ji-hye, representing the plaintiffs, stated, "We plan to submit evidence documents to the court regarding mental damages caused by the delay, damages from being unable to use prepaid Japanese hotel accommodations, tours, and transportation tickets without refunds, and economic damages such as taxi expenses incurred due to late-night arrivals."

The plaintiffs believe that T'way Air engaged in an 'aircraft swap' to reduce the compensation amount. In fact, the aircraft deployed on the Osaka route at that time was HL8501, which was scheduled to depart for Zagreb, Croatia at 11:05 AM the same day. Since compensation amounts are determined proportionally to the fare, it is believed that the airline decided to delay the short-haul route, which would incur lower compensation costs.

T'way Air stated that the replacement was not made considering compensation regulations. The airline explained, "There is a work restriction period at Zagreb Airport from 2:00 AM to 5:30 AM local time during which takeoffs and landings are not possible, and this measure was taken to avoid that."