by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:00 AM ET, Wed December 28, 2016
On Tuesday, officials from Korean Air announced that it would begin revising its rules regarding the use of stun guns and other forcible measures to handle unruly passengers.
According to The Korean Times, the decision to allow crew members to more "readily use stun guns" on disruptive passengers comes as a result of an incident that took place last week in which a drunk Korean man attacked flight attendants and other passengers.
One of the other passengers on the flight was American musician Richard Marx, who claimed the crew on the Korean Air flight from Vietnam to Korea was not properly trained to handle the situation.
While the flight attendants involved in last week's incident had a stun gun, they did not use it due to fear of consequences. The new changes allow crew members to use a Taser gun as soon as an unruly passenger refuses to comply with verbal warnings.
In addition to the more liberal use of Taser guns, Korean Air officials also announced that the airline will begin banning disruptive passengers who continue to violate the rules. The company also said it would be hiring more male flight attendants to combat the in-flight violence.
The Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said the "number of unlawful acts committed aboard Korean airplanes soared to 460 last year from 191 in 2012."
As for the man who caused the incident which resulted in the stun gun changes, prosecutors are looking to arrest the man for his violations of aviation safety laws, which could result in up to five years of imprisonment.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
