Headcount on emergency flight from Qatar swings wildly as 56 passengers vanish from list within minutes

(News1) [The Financial News] An embarrassing episode unfolded when the number of South Korean nationals evacuated from the State of Qatar on a government-arranged flight dropped by dozens on the official list within just a few minutes. It was ultimately confirmed to be a simple counting error, but critics say the Ministry of Foreign Affairs failed to keep precise track of evacuees. On the 10th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs initially announced that about 300 people would board the emergency flight that left Qatar the previous day carrying South Korean nationals.
After the plane took off, the ministry then issued a final notice saying that 378 people had boarded. However, just a few minutes later, a recheck showed that only 322 people were actually on board, forcing the ministry to hurriedly correct its figures. It was as if 56 passengers had disappeared in an instant.
The core problem was that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not have an accurate headcount up to the moment South Korean nationals finally boarded the plane. Nevertheless, the ministry shifted the blame to Qatar Airways. It explained, "We initially counted 378 passengers based on the first set of data provided by Qatar Airways, but final confirmation showed that 322 people boarded.
" Because the passenger count dropped sharply, many seats were left empty. Observers note that this could have been avoided if the ministry had verified the numbers more carefully in advance.
The government also failed to prevent "no-shows" at the airport by South Korean nationals who suddenly withdrew their intention to evacuate. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as many as 91 people either did not show up at the airport or canceled their plans to return home, leaving a large number of empty seats.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a chartered evacuation flight was scheduled to depart Abu Dhabi on the 8th with 285 passengers on board. In the end, only 206 people boarded and the plane left for Incheon International Airport.
Of those who were supposed to board, 53 never arrived at the airport and could not be reached, while 38 reportedly informed authorities at the last minute that they were canceling their return. To fill the 91 empty seats, the government allowed 12 additional people who showed up at the airport without prior registration to board the flight.
Even so, the plane still had 79 vacant seats on its way back to Korea. While the primary responsibility lies with those who changed their travel plans after initially agreeing to return, there is also criticism that the diplomatic mission failed to clearly confirm passengers’ final intention to depart.It was ultimately confirmed to be a simple tallying error, but again raised questions about the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ ability to track evacuees accurately. On the 9th, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that about 300 people would board the emergency flight that had departed from Qatar the previous day carrying South Korean nationals.
It later issued a final notice stating that 378 people had boarded. Yet, after checking again a few minutes later, the ministry had to hastily correct the figure to 322 passengers.
Once more, 56 people seemed to vanish from the list in an instant. This showed that the ministry still did not have an accurate headcount even up to the moment South Korean nationals finally boarded.
Despite this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shifted responsibility to Qatar Airways. The ministry explained, "We initially counted 378 passengers based on the first set of data provided by Qatar Airways, but final confirmation showed that 322 people boarded.
" With the number of passengers dropping sharply, many seats were left empty. Commentators argue that this situation could have been avoided if the ministry had properly verified the passenger list in advance.
A day earlier in the UAE, as many as 91 people either failed to show up at the airport or canceled their plans to return home, again resulting in a large number of empty seats. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a chartered evacuation flight was scheduled to depart Abu Dhabi in the UAE on the 8th with 285 passengers on board, but only 206 people ultimately boarded before the plane left for Incheon International Airport.
Of those who were supposed to board, 53 did not arrive at the airport and could not be contacted, while 38 reportedly informed authorities at the last minute that they were canceling their return. To fill the 91 empty seats, the government allowed 12 additional people who arrived at the airport without prior registration to board.
Even so, the plane still had 79 vacant seats on its way back to Korea.
rainman@fnnews.com Reporter Kim Kyung-soo Reporter