"Seen the Idol," "Suddenly Sick"... 3,000 Cases of "I Will Get Off" Before Takeoff in 5 Years

'Voluntary Hagi' 2,965 Cases Over 5 Years
15% Counted as Simple Mood Changes
Cases Include Conflicts with Companions and Celebrity Meetings

The number of cases where passengers request to get off the plane just before takeoff, known as 'voluntary disembarkation (下機),' has been increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to Yeom Tae-young, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, a total of 2,965 disembarkation cases occurred at airports nationwide from 2019 to August of this year. Among these, voluntary disembarkations accounted for 2,548 cases, making up 85.9% of the total. Voluntary disembarkations decreased from 401 cases in 2019 to 252 cases in 2020 due to reduced flight operations amid COVID-19. However, as air routes reopened, the numbers increased to ▲417 cases in 2021 ▲542 cases in 2022 ▲523 cases in 2023. This year, 413 cases occurred up to August.

The most common reason for voluntary disembarkation was 'health issues,' accounting for 1,399 cases (54.9%). This was followed by ▲schedule changes (273 cases, 10.7%) ▲death of family or acquaintances (142 cases, 5.6%), which were mostly reasonable reasons, but 'simple mood changes' (389 cases, 15.3%) were also significant. Specific reasons classified under 'simple mood changes' mostly involved non-urgent matters such as ▲lost items ▲arguments with companions ▲complaints about fares. Notably, there were even obsessive fans who bought plane tickets to see their favorite celebrities but requested to get off just before takeoff.

Under the Aviation Security Act, if a passenger disembarks before takeoff, the airline is required to notify airport authorities of the situation. Subsequently, based on the judgment of the Airport Terrorism Security Measures Council, necessary security measures such as a full cabin re-inspection must be taken. If a full cabin re-inspection is conducted, all passengers must disembark, and both carry-on and checked luggage must be removed. In such cases, takeoff can be delayed by one to two hours or more.

In fact, in July at Tokyo Haneda Airport, a Korean Air passenger flight bound for Gimpo was delayed by about an hour when a passenger suddenly demanded to get off just before takeoff, causing inconvenience to 220 passengers.

Assemblyman Yeom emphasized, "Voluntary disembarkation just before takeoff causes significant damage to other passengers and airlines, so it is necessary to consider measures to have passengers compensate for damages depending on the case. Passengers should also recognize that such actions pose serious aviation security threats and refrain from doing so unless in very urgent situations."

Meanwhile, 'involuntary disembarkation' due to unavoidable circumstances such as ▲aircraft defects ▲delays ▲flight cancellations accounted for 417 cases, or 14.1% of the total.