Cheongju Airport aircraft delayed for 5 hours due to auxiliary battery fire... 43 people abandoned boarding

A fire occurred in an auxiliary battery on a flight from Cheongju to Jeju, causing inconvenience to passengers as the flight was delayed for more than 5 hours due to aircraft inspection.

According to airport authorities, the Jeju Air passenger plane, which was scheduled to depart Cheongju Airport at 7:15 p.m. the previous day, departed from Cheongju Airport at 0:40 a.m. on this day and arrived at Jeju Airport at 1:40 a.m.

As departure was delayed while Jeju Air inspected the aircraft, some passengers gave up boarding and only 125 of the 168 existing passengers reboarded.

It is reported that the existing aircraft that caught fire had no major defects other than soot on the floor.

Earlier, at around 7:30 p.m. the previous day, a fire broke out in an auxiliary battery held by a passenger on a Jeju Air plane at the apron, and surrounding passengers and crew immediately extinguished the fire.

As a result of the fire, one passenger carrying an auxiliary battery suffered minor burns to his hands, and about 10 passengers and crew members showed symptoms of headaches and difficulty breathing. No people were taken to the hospital.

Jeju Air reportedly decided to pay passengers 30,000 won in compensation for flight delay and 10,000 won in transportation costs, and gave full refunds to passengers who gave up boarding or provided alternative flights that morning.