Korean Air to appeal against a penalty imposed by a Russian court over alleged “omission”

Korean Air has announced its decision to appeal against a penalty imposed by a Russian court over an alleged “omission” in the departure process at a Moscow airport in early 2021. The Russian arbitration court has ordered Korean Air to pay a fine of 59 billion won ($46 million) to Russia’s customs authorities, which is half of the initial fine of 110 billion won imposed by the customs authorities.

The dispute arose when the Russian customs authorities claimed that Korean Air’s cargo plane, KE529, took off from Sheremetyevo International Airport in February 2021 without receiving an official seal from the customs office. However, Korean Air maintains that it received the seal after departure and submitted all necessary documents at the airport. The airline argues that the penalty is excessively harsh and has filed a lawsuit against Russia’s federal customs office.

Observers speculate that Russia’s imposition of the fine might be related to its financial difficulties amid economic sanctions imposed by the United States following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the previous year. Korean Air expressed its disagreement with the Russian court’s decision, citing that it followed all required procedures under Russian laws and had explained the situation multiple times to the Russian authorities.