Korean Air to Deploy Charter Flight to Atlanta Tomorrow to Bring Back Detained Koreans in the US

A chartered flight to transport the South Koreans detained at the construction site of the Hyundai Motor Group-LG Energy Solution battery joint venture plant (HL-GA Battery Company) in Georgia, United States, is scheduled to depart for the site as early as September 10.

Yonhap News Agency

According to industry sources on September 9, Korean Air will operate a B747-8i chartered flight from Incheon International Airport to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Georgia as early as the morning of September 10. This large passenger aircraft, with a total of 368 seats, is capable of carrying all 300 or so detained South Koreans at once.

On its way from South Korea to the United States, the plane will operate as a ferry flight, flying empty. The return flight is expected to depart from Atlanta Airport in the afternoon of September 10 (local time) and arrive at Incheon Airport in South Korea late in the evening of September 11 (Korean time).

Initially, there was consideration of departing from Jacksonville International Airport in Florida, which is about a 50-minute drive from the detention facility. However, due to restrictions on the takeoff and landing of large aircraft at that airport, Atlanta Airport was ultimately chosen. Atlanta Airport is approximately a 4-hour and 30-minute drive (428 kilometers) from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Folkston, southern Georgia.

Industry estimates suggest that the round-trip cost of operating the chartered flight will be around 1 billion won. This cost will be covered by LG Energy Solution.

Previously, on September 4 (local time), U.S. authorities conducted a large-scale crackdown on undocumented workers at the HL-GA Battery Company construction site in Georgia, detaining 475 people. Among those detained were 47 employees affiliated with LG Energy Solution (46 South Korean nationals and 1 Indonesian national), as well as approximately 250 employees from equipment partner companies related to HL-GA Battery Company. It is reported that they were detained for engaging in "activities inconsistent with their stated purpose of stay" while working locally under B-1 visas for meetings or contracts, or under the visa waiver Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).