Korean Air has been fined around $46 million by a Russian court. The carrier is accused of alleged omissions in connection with customs clearance. The incident happened in early 2021.

Specifically, it is about the fact that the cargo flight KE529 is said to have left Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport in February 2021 without a so-called seal from the Russian customs authorities. The carrier vehemently contradicts this and explains that this was obtained before departure and that all the necessary documents were presented to customs. However, the authorities were not interested in this, because they initially imposed a fine of 87 million US dollars.

Korean Air, in particular, did not agree at all with the amount of the fine and took the matter to court. Although it was possible to present all the documents that also had the disputed seals in their original form, the fine was not lifted, only reduced. In South Korea, some media speculate that political and financial interests could be behind it.

Namely, Russia regards this country as a so-called “unfriendly state”. As a result, Korean Air - like all other South Korean carriers - is banned. Thus, the probability that in the near future a plane of the affected airline will land on the territory of the Russian Federation is close to zero.

Whether and how Korean Air will pay the fine, which could possibly also serve to improve the Russian state budget, is still completely open. Enforcement is likely to be extremely difficult for the government of the Russian Federation. At best, one could try to have a Korean Air plane chained up in a “friendly state”.