Seoul, Oct 3 (IANS): The transport ministry here said on Thursday it has imposed fines on Saudia Airlines, Qatar Airways and eight other domestic and foreign airlines for violating South Korea's aviation law.

Saudia Airlines was slapped with a fine of 100 million won ($75,500) for suspending its flights linking Incheon and Riyadh without permission from aviation authorities.

The Saudi Arabian airline won approval to operate three weekly flights of the route from March through October, but it has not been operating them since June 27, reports Yonhap news agency.

Under the Aviation Business Act, all airlines operating flights to domestic airports must follow a business plan approved by the ministry. Changes to the plan, such as suspending flights, are only allowed with an approval.

Qatar Airways faced a fine of 150 million won for the violation of aircraft leasing rules in operating freight aircraft of the Incheon-Doha route last year.

South Korean low-cost carrier (LCC) T'way Air faced a penalty of 14 million won for failing to properly inform passengers of flight delays seven times from March-June this year in violation of the aviation rules, though it acknowledged such delays in advance.

Spring Airlines, Air Japan, Lao Airlines, Greater Bay Airlines, Lufthansa, Malaysian Airlines and Peach Aviation faced a fine of 2 million won each for violating rules on marking flight tickets.

"The stern measures came for their violation of domestic laws and causing inconvenience to customers. The government will continue to make all-out efforts to ensure the safety of passengers and to protect customers' rights," a ministry official said.

Meanwhile, Qatar Airways has reached a deal to buy a minority stake in Australia's second-largest airline, Virgin Australia. Virgin Australia announced that Qatar Airways will acquire a 25 per cent equity stake in the airline from its owner, Bain Capital, pending approval by the government's Foreign Investment Review Board.