They were previously accused of power trips.
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HYBE‘s rookie group CORTIS has recently been swept up in a series of airport-related allegations, with passengers accusing them of using their status as a celebrity and causing delays.
The controversy began after posts circulated online accusing the group of delaying an Air France flight to Paris and allegedly blocking passengers while changing clothes inside an airport boarding bridge.
As criticism spread across online communities, CORTIS’ agency, BigHit Music, stepped forward with a detailed explanation.
According to BigHit Music, CORTIS did arrive late to the airport on June 26 while traveling to Paris. However, the agency explained that the delay was caused by severe road congestion following a traffic accident.
“Boarding was delayed due to traffic congestion caused by a traffic accident. We sincerely apologize to the passengers on the same flight who were inconvenienced.”
However, BigHit firmly denied suggestions that the group received special treatment or caused a significant delay to the flight. Online rumors claimed CORTIS boarded at 2.45pm despite the scheduled departure time being 2.40pm and that the flight departed late because of them.
But flight records reportedly showed that the aircraft actually left the gate at 3.01 pm a departure time that fell within the airline’s normal operating range. Industry officials also noted that long-haul international flights frequently depart several minutes later than their listed schedule and that takeoff times depend heavily on runway conditions and airport traffic.
The aircraft ultimately arrived only one minute later than its scheduled arrival time. Another viral claim alleged that a CORTIS member blocked passengers from exiting an aircraft while changing clothes inside the boarding bridge.
The rumor originated from an incident dating back to October of last year. BigHit strongly rejected the accusation. According to the company, the member in question was simply organizing personal belongings after all passengers had already disembarked.
“After all passengers had exited, he was the last to leave while organizing his belongings. It is not true that he blocked passengers or changed clothes while preventing others from leaving.”
The agency further argued that photos used to support the rumor actually contradicted the claim. Reports pointed out that the angle of the images suggested the photographer had already exited the aircraft and turned around to take the photo, making it impossible for the member to have been blocking passengers in front of them.
While the agency acknowledged that fellow passengers may have experienced inconvenience due to the delayed arrival at the airport, it firmly denied allegations that CORTIS intentionally delayed flights, blocked passengers, or changed clothes in airport facilities. For now, BigHit’s statement appears to have cleared up many of the claims that fueled the controversy.