Airliners required to use stun guns against in-flight violence

SEOUL, Jan. 19 (Yonhap) -- The government said Thursday it's revising relevant laws to allow more active use of stun guns against in-flight violence.

The move comes one month after a drunk South Korean man disrupted a Korean Air flight from Hanoi, Vietnam, to Incheon, South Korea, in December.

Flight attendants subdued the passenger only with the help of other passengers, including American singer Richard Marx.

A flight attendant pointed a stun gun at the violent passenger at one point but didn't fire the weapon to end the two-hour saga.

Under the regulations to be revised, airliners are required to detain anyone involved in serious in-flight violence immediately without issuing a letter of warning, the Transportation Ministry said.

Otherwise, airliners will be fined up to 200 million won (US$169,952).

Serious violence includes assault of flight attendants and attempts to rush into the cockpit or manipulate emergency exits.

Flight attendants are currently allowed to use stun guns only when their lives and the passengers' are threatened.

Airliners are also required to equip themselves with nooses rather than ropes to detain those involved in in-flight violence.

The number of in-flight violence more than doubled to 460 cases last year from 191 in 2012, according to ministry statistics.

hdh@yna.co.kr
(END)