S. Korea Releases Grounded Phuket Air Plane

S.Korea releases Phuket Air plane grounded for bills

SEOUL: -- Two months after it was grounded for non-payment of bills, a Phuket Airlines jumbo jet took off for Bangkok from Inchon airport near Seoul on Thursday.

Airport officials said securing approval to take off indicated the Thai airline's bills had been settled.

Officials did not give a figure, but newspapers said the airline owed about 137 million won (74,300 pounds) for fuel, 57 million won in airport charges, and had other debts including a bill for catering of 16.4 million won.

Phuket Air officials in Bangkok were not immediately available for comment.

Airport officials said that after more than two months on the ground in mid-summer, the Boeing 747-300, with 568 seats, had started to stink.

"The plane isn't quite clean, but it has no problem in flying," said an official at Seoul Regional Aviation Administration, which checked the airplane before take-off.

Airlines serving resort areas in Thailand have been hit by a drop in traffic due to fewer visitors after the December tsunami.

--Reuters 2005-10-07