Jeju Air's former mechanic reveals, ”I couldn't eat or take a break for 14 hours” (South Korea)

Jeju Air has deployed experienced maintenance personnel to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak after the Jeju Airlines passenger plane crash at Muan International Airport in South Jeolla Province killed 179 people.
According to the Korean aviation industry on the 7th, on the 5th, an online community for company employees called "Blind" said,
The post was titled, "I was a mechanic at Jeju Air." Mr. A introduced himself as an aircraft mechanic who had worked for Jeju Air for a long time and wrote, "I'm very grateful to the aviation industry, especially to Jeju Air's mechanics.
"The treatment of employees is extremely poor, and the structure makes it difficult for employees to speak up even when they are in an unfair situation," said A. "Due to the cut in maintenance costs, there are no proper facilities and the maintenance is done at the ramp.
"The mechanics had to work 13 to 14 hours a day without any time for meals or breaks, and experienced mechanics left the company after the COVID-19 outbreak," he said.
"This led to a shortage of mechanics, which resulted in an increase in various defects," he said. "In an attempt to resolve employees' complaints, we opened communication channels such as general manager meetings, but the costs were too high.
Issues of accountability such as manpower allocation and improved working conditions were ignored, and the CEO, human resources team, and maintenance headquarters viewed the mechanics' demands as dissatisfaction."
In particular, Mr. A was concerned about the concrete localizer structure, which was cited as a factor in increasing the loss of life in this accident.
Mr. A also pointed out the concrete structure, which should never have happened, and said, "The biggest cause of this accident was the concrete structure, which should never have happened," and "The belly landing was the most amazing in history.
"However, the concrete structure caused a tragic accident in which all passengers were killed," he said. "Despite this, the government agencies are trying to avoid responsibility.
Jeju Air responded by calling the comments "malicious." A Jeju Air official said, "During the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of maintenance staff temporarily decreased to 10,000 in the country.
"There was a time when the number of maintenance engineers was less than the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's recommendation, but it has since recovered," he said. "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism recommends 12 maintenance engineers per aircraft, but at the time, the number was only 11.2.
"The working environment is by no means bad, but we believe that someone who left the company for personal reasons may have written this malicious comment," he said.
Meanwhile, the office of Lee Yong-hee, a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, received a report from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport entitled "Current Status of Airline Delays from 2020 to the First Half of 2024."
According to the documents, of the 52,883 flights operated by Jeju Air in the first half of last year, 536 flights (344 domestic flights and 192 international flights) were delayed due to maintenance.
This is the highest number of flights operated by any of the 10 Korean airlines in the first half of last year. Korean Air, which operates the most flights overall, had 42
This is not only more than the number of flights by airlines such as T'way Airlines (315 flights), Jin Air (243 flights), and Air Busan (227 flights), but also far more than the number of flights by low-cost carriers (LCCs) such as T'way Airlines (315 flights), Jin Air (243 flights), and Air Busan (227 flights).
A's post has now been deleted.