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| Lufthansa flight LH 0718 bound for Seoul is on standby at Munich Airport in Germany, Wednesday, local time. Courtesy of Koo Ki-sung |
By Kim Hyun-bin
German flagship carrier Lufthansa is facing criticism for requiring over 30 passengers on its LH 0718 flight from Munich to Incheon on May 25 to retake their rapid antigen tests just before departure, despite having valid negative COVID-19 test results, according to some passengers and industry officials, Monday.
As of May 23, all passengers heading to Seoul are required to submit negative PCR COVID-19 test results issued within 48 hours of the departure date, or supervised negative professional rapid antigen test results taken and issued within 24 hours of the departure date.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, if a passenger is departing from a country to Korea on May 25, they must submit a negative PCR test result taken after midnight on May 23 or a supervised negative rapid antigen test result taken after midnight on May 24, meaning all PCR tests taken two days before the flight, as well as supervised rapid antigen tests taken a day before the flight, are valid.
However, the controversy arose as Lufthansa made some passengers retake the rapid antigen test less than an hour before departure, claiming that 24 hours had passed, while all negative results from rapid antigen tests a day before the flight were still valid.
"We took the rapid antigen tests on May 24 at the Munich Airport to board the flight the following day, but were rejected at the boarding gate, although we were able to pass the airline's check-in desk and immigration after showing the same test results," Lim Bong-sun, a passenger on the flight, told The Korea Times.
"We kept telling Lufthansa staff at the gate that the test results were valid, but the airline staff told us to retake the test, claiming that 24 hours had passed, so we had no choice but to go back to the entrance of the airport to get another rapid antigen test and go through airport security again."
The flight was delayed for an hour as most of the passengers were not able to return on time.
"There was an announcement 30 minutes prior to departure saying that the flight had been delayed for an hour as over 30 passengers were not able to board. Since it was a flight to Seoul, most of the passengers were Korean nationals," said Koo Ki-sung, another passenger on the flight. "The strange thing is that some of our group that took a Turkish Airlines flight bound for Seoul a couple of hours after our departure at the same airport had no problem departing with the same negative rapid antigen test results that were taken together the day before."
Some industry experts say, in most cases, for flagship carriers departing from their home countries, the required documents are reviewed thoroughly during baggage check-in.
"Especially for national flagship carriers when departing from home, they tend to check the required documents thoroughly during check-in, since they have enough staff available, and as it provides smoother boarding procedures at the gate," a major airline official said. "Lufthansa seems to be in the wrong as they lacked clear knowledge of the COVID-19 regulations (for flights to Korea)."
The German flagship carrier said it would look into the matter and make necessary reimbursements for the testing if it is found to be at fault.
"Lufthansa is abiding by the Korean government's COVID-19 regulations for Seoul-bound passengers," a Lufthansa Korea spokesman said. "There seems to have been some confusion with the boarding gate staff, as the Korean government eased COVID-19 regulations recently on May 23 to accept rapid antigen tests."
