The government will begin receiving reports of possible dangers and threats to airline safety from anyone, including airline passengers and workers, the transportation ministry said Thursday.

The so-called airline safety whistle-blower system allows any person who witnesses any violation of safety regulations by airlines, passengers and airport workers to file a report, which will be checked and correctional measures taken, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The person who filed the report will be notified of the outcome of any correctional measures taken while the identity of whistle-blowers will be completely protected, it said.

The new system follows a series of incidents that have or may have jeopardized the safety of airline passengers.

One of these incidents was the so-called nut-rage case, in which a former executive of the country's largest flag carrier, Korean Air Lines, ordered a taxiing plane to return to the boarding gate over in-flight services, causing an apparently unnecessary delay in departure of the plane that was carrying some 300 other passengers.

The former executive, who is also the eldest daughter of the airline's chairman, was released from prison last week after an appellate court overturned a lower court decision that had sentenced her to a one-year jail term. (Yonhap)