A number of domestic flights departing from Gimpo International Airport were delayed on Thursday, causing major inconvenience to passengers안전놀이터.

According to Korea Airports Corporation, 99 domestic flights departing from Gimpo Airport were delayed from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. that day. Of these, 73 flights were on the Jeju route. Flights from Korean Air, Asiana, Jin Air, and Jeju Air were delayed for as long as two and a half hours, forcing passengers to wait at the airport or reschedule.

The delays were reportedly caused by the discovery of a number of items in the checked baggage of group travelers, including students on school trips, that cannot be packed in checked baggage, such as sprays and aerosols. Korea Airports Corporation has recently strengthened security checks after a series of security incidents, such as allowing passengers to board with security checkers turned off at Gunsan and Jeju airports. Some analysts believe that this is due to the fact that the number of security screening personnel, which was reduced due to the COVID-19 outbreak, was not recruited in time.

“Of the 29,000 passengers on flights departing from Gimpo Airport today, 24,000 were bound for Jeju, and many of them are group travelers such as school trips,” said an official from Korea Airports Corporation. “There are cases where items such as sprays are found in the checked baggage of travelers who are not familiar with aircraft security regulations. In this case, we understand that the flight was delayed due to the mandatory time-consuming opening inspection.”