Seoul: After a passenger opened an emergency exit door midair, South Korea’s Asiana Airlines on Monday stopped selling tickets for seats near emergency exits.
The aircraft escaped an accident by hair's breadth on Friday when a passenger opened the door causing panic.
Now the airlines announced that it will not sell ticks for seats number 26A on 174-seat A321s and number 31A on 195-seat models, according to CNN.
The row of seats mentioned in the list are placed in the middle of the plane close to the doors on the left-hand side of single-aisle aircraft.
The new direction for safety applies to flights even if they are full, the statement by the airlines said.
The guidelines for the flight attendants said they will have to sit during takeoff and landing on the right-hand side seats.
The Airbus A321-200 , carrying nearly 200 passengers, was approaching runaway on Friday when a passenger opened the emergency exit.
The flight was just about 200 meters (650 feet) above Daegu International Airport 240 kilometres southeast of Seoul when the passenger ‘opened the door manually by touching the lever’, according to news agency AFP.
Passengers had breathing difficulties when the door was opened, requiring medical care for some of them after landing.
However, nobody complained of any major injuries or damage.