Asiana Airlines on Monday said it had formally appealed a 45-day government ban on flights on its Incheon-San Francisco route for a crash last year that left three people dead.

In the appeal submitted to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the country’s second-largest carrier accused the government of having planned the sanctions in advance, saying that the administrative decision had “already been made” even before the deliberations began.

The carrier also criticized the ministry for backward-looking policies, stressing that penalties were not the right way for responding to crashes and that consumers would be disadvantaged in the process. It then pointed out that more than 40 airliners and the International Air Transport Association had petitioned to help Asiana avoid a route ban.

The airline is now calling for the chair and all members of the administrative review panel to be changed ahead of re-deliberations. If such actions are not taken, Asiana said it would proceed to take legal action.

On Friday, the Land Ministry announced the route ban months after the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said that pilot error was the main cause of the crash.

(hnpark@heraldcorp.com)