South Korea Orders Asiana Airlines To Suspend Flights To SFO For Deadly 2013 Plane Crash
SAN FRANCISCO INT'L AIRPORT (CBS SF) -- Asiana Airlines has been ordered by the South Korean government to temporarily stop flying to San Francisco International Airport, following last year's crash that killed three passengers and injured more than 180 people.
According to the South Korean news agency Yonhap, the government is forcing Asiana to suspend all flights to San Francisco for 45 days.
The Korean Transportation Ministry said the order was made because the airline violated safety regulations when the Boeing 777 crashed at SFO in the summer of 2013.
There is one flight per day from Incheon Airport near Seoul to San Francisco and back.
The Korean government said it would ask other airlines to pick up the slack.
Asiana Airlines has released a statement saying it will appeal the government's decision. "The decision will cause serious passenger inconvenience given the high traffic on the route. In that case, the authorities are normally recommended by regulations to fine an airline instead of suspending flight," the statement read.
The order could affect some United Airlines passengers, since they have a codeshare agreement with Asiana.
It is unclear when flights would be suspended. A flight from San Francisco to Incheon on Friday was listed as departing on time on the Asiana Airlines website.