EastarJet to resume flights after three years of suspension

South Korean budget carrier EastarJet will resume flights on the domestic Gimpo-Jeju route on Mar. 26 after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) said on Tuesday that it reissued an air operator certificate (AOC) to EastarJet after inspecting its safety operation system. AOC is a safety license that airlines need to obtain from their government.

EastarJet, which owns three Boeing 737-800s, plans to introduce new aircraft and expand its future routes to include international flights. “We will do our best to be recognized as a low-cost carrier trusted by the people,” CEO Cho Jung-seok said in a statement.

EastarJet was sold last month to VIG Partners, a private equity fund that holds a 100% stake in the airline. EastarJet entered corporate rehabilitation proceedings in Feb. 2021 after its sale to Jeju Air fell through in 2020.

It exited the proceedings in June after being acquired by Sungjung, a golf course management and real estate leasing company, but has not been able to obtain an AOC from the MOLIT until now.

EastarJet’s normalization process was hampered by suspicions that its founder Lee Sang-jik, a former lawmaker, had ties with EastarJet even after Sungjung’s acquisition.

Write to Kyung-Min Kang at khm1026@hankyung.com