Jeju Air Co., South Korea's largest budget carrier, will initially cut nearly 1,880 flights in the first quarter, it said Wednesday, a move aimed at enhancing its operational safety following the recent crash of its Boeing 737-800 flight that left 179 people dead.

South Korea’s leading low-cost carrier, heavy with debt and its stock already near record lows, is now facing intense public and government scrutiny.

Jeju Air and the South Korean airline industry continue to feel the impacts of accidents beyond a reduced flight schedule. The airline currently has 260 billion won ($177 million) in deferred revenue from passengers who have booked their tickets but have not yet flown.

Domestic flight reductions could begin as early as next week, while international cuts are expected to start in the third week of January.

Acting President Choi Sang-mok orders an extensive probe into the crash and the country’s airline safety systems.

While specific routes were not disclosed, the airline plans to minimize passenger inconvenience by concentrating reductions on international routes with more than two daily flights. Jeju Air’s key routes include destinations such as Tokyo,

As investigators look into what caused Jeju Air Flight 7C2216 to crash, the airline has come under intense government and public scrutiny for how it operates. Some of its operational practices are being challenged, including how it flew its planes more frequently than competitors and how it outsourced its maintenance overseas.

After a Jeju Air plane crash-landed in southwestern South Korea in December 2024, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, a clip was shared in social media posts that falsely claimed it showed footage from inside the passenger cabin before the crash.

South Korea’s transport minister is resigning because he feels “heavy responsibility” for the Jeju Air crash that killed 179 people last month. A Jeju Air aircraft carrying 181 passengers and crew crashed at the Muan international airport on 29 December in what was the country’s worst air disaster.