Park Soo-hong, not 're-boarding' but 'revoking deplaning'.. Airline and captain's discretion, not special treatment [Star Issue]

*This content was translated by AI.

Broadcaster Park Soo-hong and influencer Kim Da-ye sparked controversy while traveling to Guam with their 22-month-old daughter, Jae-i-yang, after causing a flight delay. Although it was initially reported that the couple had deplaned due to their daughter's intense crying and then re-boarded, this is inaccurate. Instead, they expressed intent to deplane but later revoked that decision once the baby calmed down, resulting in what is described as a "revocation of deplaning." During the incident, the airline's legal team was dispatched, attempts were made to connect the boarding bridge, and Park Soo-hong family's luggage was removed from the cargo hold and then reloaded, contributing to the flight's departure delay.

Recently, a post by a passenger who boarded a Korean Air flight to Guam on the 23rd appeared on an online community platform. According to the post, the Park Soo-hong family boarded Korean Air Flight KE415 from Incheon International Airport to Guam on the 23rd. The passenger wrote that when Park Soo-hong's 22-month-old daughter continued crying on board, the family requested voluntary deplaning. Voluntary deplaning refers to a situation where passengers who have already boarded request to leave the aircraft due to personal circumstances.

According to fellow passengers, Park Soo-hong and his wife traveled with the Lee Yong-sik family. Seated in business class, the Park family attempted to soothe their crying daughter by moving to the back of the economy section, but when the crying persisted, they requested voluntary deplaning and subsequently apologized to other business class passengers. A passenger seated nearby even shared footage of Park Soo-hong apologizing on a travel forum. The released video clearly captures the baby's sharp cries.

However, passengers seated in the economy section stated that they only learned after reading news reports that their flight had been delayed due to the Park family's voluntary deplaning request. Another parent traveling with a child in the same economy section said, "We waited for an hour without knowing why it was because of the Park family. They said they would get off, so all passengers waited, but then they said they wouldn't. While we understand the difficulty of dealing with a crying baby, waiting an hour made it hard on our child as well," conveying their difficult experience at the time.

Following the controversy, Park Soo-hong issued an apology via his personal account on the 26th. He stated, "A departure delay occurred recently due to my family's actions during the flight departure process. This caused significant inconvenience by taking away many people's precious time and also caused harm to airline staff. I sincerely apologize with a bowed head."

Park Soo-hong continued, "Immediately after boarding, my child was crying so intensely that we couldn't even sit down, leading to an immature decision. Concerned that the baby's crying would cause greater disruption to other passengers during the long flight, I initially informed the cabin crew of our intention to deplane. While waiting on board, the baby calmed down, and we expressed our desire to re-board, but we failed to realize this could significantly delay security checks and other procedures. This was entirely due to my ignorance of aviation-related protocols, leaving no room for justification." He added, "Once again, I deeply apologize with a bowed head to all passengers and airline staff who suffered significant harm due to my shortcomings."

While the publicly available 'Korean Air Passenger Transportation Terms' or general passenger manuals do not specify procedures regarding "revocation of deplaning," the International Aviation Security Act stipulates that if a passenger expresses intent to deplane, their luggage must be removed. If the passenger later revokes this decision, the airline may either accept or reject the request at its discretion.

According to Korean Air's statement to a media outlet, company regulations allow passengers who have expressed intent to deplane but have not actually exited the aircraft through the door to withdraw their request and remain on board. If only the intent to deplane was communicated without actual exit, the decision to allow re-boarding or deny it rests with the captain and airline discretion. In this case, luggage was removed from the aircraft, but since passengers did not physically deplane, revoking the deplaning request was possible. For the Park family, whose situation involved discomfort due to a crying baby rather than disruptive behavior or threats, such a "revocation of deplaning" appears to have been accepted on-site. It is interpreted that authorities deemed allowing them to remain would prevent further operational delays compared to having them fully deplane and re-board.

Meanwhile, as Park Soo-hong formally apologized with a bowed head, the clarification that this was not "re-boarding" but rather "revocation of deplaning" has drawn attention as the controversy continues to unfold.

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*This content was translated by AI.