Thailand’s privately owned PC Air is suing two South Korean companies for 1.5 billion baht in compensation, following a row which left passengers stranded at Incheon International Airport in October, 2012.
PC Air, billed as the world’s first to employ the third gender as cabin attendants, is filing a complaint with police in Inchoen city against former South Korean partners Skyjet and Jae Sin. The airline is accusing the firms of committing a financial crime by holding its passengers hostage, pending additional payments to the two companies.
PC Air CEO Peter Chan said the compensation claim was filed in connection with the South Korean companies’ action which resulted in damage to the airline’s reputation and the suspension of the airline’s flights until further notice. The Department of Civil Aviation had earlier advised PC Air to suspend flights until it resolved problems related to unpaid bills and compensation payments for stranded passengers, amounting to over 10 million baht.
According to Mr Chan, Skyjet had illegally demanded an additional fuel fee of $600,000, after the airline had already paid US$160,000 to Skyjet to settle fuel bills earlier that month. Once PC Air refuses to pay the sum, their sole Airbus 310-222 aircraft was refused permission for take-off from Incheon Airport, leaving Thai passengers stranded for two days.
Thai passengers have been filing lawsuits against the airline, following the financial wrangle that erupted. A group of outbound travelers and tour operators have also lodged a complaint with the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), seeking compensation from PC Air, as they were left unable to travel out of Bangkok due to the incident.
Mr Chan told the press that PC Air is in the process of terminating its contracts with the two Korean firms and that the airline is expected to resume operations no later than March.
