A revised aviation safety law imposing tougher penalties on people who obstruct or harass flight crew comes into effect on Tuesday.

The bill was proposed by Saenuri Party lawmaker Ha Tae-keung of the National Assembly's Land and Transportation Committee.

It came in response to the so-called nut-rage scandal in late 2014, in which Korean Air heiress Cho Hyun-ah threw a violent tantrum because she had been served a bag of nuts incorrectly in first class.

The bill was passed by the National Assembly late last year. Under the new law, anyone obstructing or harassing pilots or other flight crew is liable to a prison of up to five years or a fine of up to W50 million (US$1=W1,212).

The previous maximum fine was W5 million. Intoxicated passengers who injure other passengers face a fine of up to W10 million, up from W5 million.

Pilots and other flight crew are obliged to hand over such passengers to police, and if they fail to do so the airline can be fined up to W10 million.

The number of reported air rage incidents increased from 203 in 2013 to more than 369 last year.

