Muan, South Korea— During the holidays, Muan International Airport looks like any other airport. Its parking lot was filled with hundreds of cars and its departure and arrival gates were bustling.

However, it is unlike other airports and does not have any festive atmosphere. The airport has suspended all operations for two days after a fatal passenger plane crash on Sunday that left only two survivors among 181 passengers and crew. Jeju Air flight 2216 A plane flying from Thailand to South Korea hit a concrete guardrail after making an emergency belly landing on the Muan Airport runway and was immediately engulfed in a fireball.

The airport in South Jeolla Province was packed with people dressed in black, like a Korean funeral. Family and friends huddled together, shedding tears and crying in grief.

They are waiting to receive the remains of their loved ones and to be reunited with them for the last time.

Ki Hwe-man, 37, traveled more than five hours from the northern city of Paju after hearing that his uncle was one of the victims of the plane crash. He remembers his late uncle as a man of faith and a friend.

“I always played football as a kid and my uncle used to come to our house to visit us. He was the only adult who played with the kids during our family gatherings,” Key recalled. “He was always bright and a great example of what it means to be an adult. He is someone I aspire to be one day.”

Immediate family members of the victims had been staying in makeshift tents and benches at the airport since Sunday, but the next day large numbers of relatives and close friends from across the country began gathering at the airport to mourn with them.

Five of the 179 dead have yet to be identified.

Many of the passengers were on vacation in Thailand, including 41 members of a Bangkok tour group sold by a local travel agency. The oldest among them is 78 years old, and the youngest is only 3 years old.

“Just the day before my sister left for her trip, she went to our mother’s house in Gwangju to give her a Christmas gift,” recalled a middle-aged man who lost his sister in 2017 and took a breath of fresh air outside the airport. brother-in-law. collapse. “After letting her try on the new clothes, she told her mother she would be back soon.”

He recalled how his younger sister brought the family together after his father died last year.

“She suggested that we go to Lishui last summer and to Dachuan in the fall. She took care of our ailing father in his last days. We gained courage from her,” he said, feeling emotional before walking away.

Seven days of national mourning were announced, and commemorative sites were set up in cities across the country. Less than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from Muan Airport, a memorial altar was set up at the city’s sports center to commemorate the victims.

Jeon Myung-hwan came from Seoul to say his final farewell to his best friend.

“My friend and his wife are on a retirement trip and we even spoke on the phone last week. We discussed going on a trip of our own soon,” Quan told Al Jazeera, his voice shaking.

The two friends met while attending middle school in their hometown of Gwangyang, just a few hours east of Muan, and would get together with other friends at least once a year.

“We even got married around the same time, so our families often met and went on trips together. He was gentle and quiet, but always taking care of others like a big brother,” Quan recalled.

Because searches at the airport had not identified his friend’s wife, her name did not appear on the funeral altar along with those of the other victims.

“I was sad to see my friend not sitting next to his wife at the altar,” Quan said. “I hope he’s safe in heaven with his wife.”

On Tuesday, after two full days of recovery efforts, families were able to begin funerals as the first bodies were brought back. However, families at the airport have expressed frustration at the slow response from authorities and concerns about gaps in their leadership.

Family representative Park Han-shin even told reporters gathered at Muan Airport that he “no longer fully trusts the authorities” after he claimed they were busy passing the blame on each other.

South Korea currently leads the way third president in a month. South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol was removed from office after he declared martial law earlier this month. The next prime minister, Han Deok-soo, was voted out after just two weeks, leaving Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok to navigate a national disaster, a polarized political arena and historic economic fallout. Acting President.

Choi Soon-sil ordered an emergency safety inspection of South Korea’s entire airline operations, including special inspections of all 101 Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by South Korean airlines (the model involved in Sunday’s crash), focusing on the maintenance of key components. Record.

Although a bird strike While it has long been mentioned as a key factor in the crash, experts have questioned the extent to which this theory was the sole cause of the crash. Authorities have collected the plane’s cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder for further analysis.

During the investigation, South Korean officials will need to consider issues such as the plane’s speed when it landed, the flaps that were not deployed, the function of the thrust reversers and the deactivated landing gear. Locals in Muan reported hearing explosions before the plane made an emergency landing.

As a result, much of the public’s attention is focused on the airline Jeju Air.

Hours after Sunday’s plane crash, the low-cost airline’s bosses took a deep bow and issued a public apology at a news conference. The airline, named after Jeju Island, is South Korea’s first and largest low-cost airline. Among the various concerns is the overuse of aircraft during the end-of-year holiday travel season. The plane that crashed on Jeju Island on Sunday was found to have flown 13 flights in the 48 hours before the accident, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing industry sources.

Local media also highlighted past online posts believed to have been written by former and current Jeju Air employees. A post last year on the anonymous website Blind claimed that the company’s efforts to “save maintenance costs” resulted in “four engine failures in flight.” Another post, possibly written by a company machinist, claimed that “fellow machinists are working all-nighters on top of 13- to 14-hour shifts with no time off except for lunch.”

About 68,000 Jeju Air reservations were canceled within 24 hours of Sunday’s crash.

There are also rumors about concrete embankment The plane eventually crashed at the end of the Muan Airport runway. According to Muan Airport authorities, safety regulations require that the distance between the embankment and the end of the runway be at least 250 meters (820 feet) with a localizer (an instrument that guides incoming aircraft).

Returning to the memorial altar in Muan City, Song In-young, 61, said he had come from neighboring Naju City to pay his respects to the victims.

“We (the victims) are not related in any way, but I consider everyone on that flight to be my family. Especially for someone like me who experienced brutal political oppression in the 1980s, We have deep ties to the cities in the region.” Implemented by the military that was in power at the time.

“I believe in an afterlife, so I wish all the victims safety in their remaining journeys,” Song said. “More importantly, I hope all remaining family members can find peace as soon as possible.”