In light of a recent incident in which a passenger allegedly opened an emergency exit door mid-flight, Asiana Airlines has announced that it will no longer sell tickets for the emergency exit row seats on its Airbus A321-200 aircraft. The seats in question are number 26A on 174-seat A321s and number 31A on 195-seat models, which are located nearest the doors on the left-hand side of the single-aisle aircraft. Even if the flight is full, these seats will now be kept vacant as a safety precaution.
The incident that prompted this decision occurred on a flight from Jeju Island to Daegu airport in South Korea when a passenger opened an emergency exit door just before landing. The man was subsequently arrested and stated that he had been under a great deal of stress after losing his job and had felt suffocated, so he wanted to leave the plane quickly. There were no serious injuries, but 12 passengers suffered minor injuries from hyperventilation in the aftermath of the incident.
Asiana Airlines has taken swift action following the alarming incident and is putting passenger safety first by removing the emergency exit row seats from sale. This decision will help prevent similar incidents from happening in the future and reassure passengers that the airline is taking all necessary precautions to ensure that they arrive at their destination safely.