Eastar Jet wins prime minister, transport minister commendations for aviation safety

Eastar Jet announced Monday that it received commendations from the prime minister and the minister of land, infrastructure and transport in recognition of its contributions to strengthening aviation safety.

At the 46th Aviation Day ceremony held Friday afternoon at Mayfield Hotel in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Eastar Jet's maintenance division head Lee Jeong and cabin training team leader Kim Jae-won were honored for building aviation safety infrastructure.

Lee, who oversees the maintenance division, received the prime minister's commendation for establishing an integrated maintenance center spanning 5,610 square meters at Gimpo International Airport, raising maintenance quality and laying the groundwork for in-house MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) operations.

The integrated maintenance center was designed to consolidate functions that had previously been handled separately — parts management, aircraft inspection, painting and other repair work, and maintenance technology education — under one roof, enabling greater efficiency, quality and on-time performance through unified maintenance operations.

Kim, the cabin training team leader, received the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport minister's commendation for overhauling the safety training infrastructure for cabin crew.

Eastar Jet partnered with Gyeongin Women's University to build its own crew training facility and training management system tailored to the Boeing 737, and introduced physical fitness tests and situational-response interviews into its cabin crew recruitment process, strengthening a practice-oriented training framework and selecting candidates with strong safety competencies.

"This award is an achievement that belongs to all of Eastar Jet's maintenance staff, who have supported accident-free operations through thorough on-site inspections," Lee said. "We will continue to reinforce preventive maintenance and proactive defect management to further solidify the foundation for accident-free flight."

The Aviation Day ceremony is an annual event held in late October, organized by the Korea Air Transport Association and the Korea Aero Club, to recognize individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the development of the aviation industry. This year, 38 individuals and three organizations received awards, including Eastar Jet's Lee and Kim.

Meanwhile, Eastar Jet has been actively expanding its route network to improve passenger convenience, recently launching new service to Xiamen, China.