Asiana Airlines’ pilot walkouts lead to cancellation of international flights

The protest of the pilot union of Asiana Airlines, currently at odds with the employer over labor income issues, caused an international roundtrip flight to be called off. If the unionized pilots take strike action next Monday as announced previously, more flights will likely be canceled consequently.

According to Asiana Airlines on Sunday, OZ731 was canceled although originally scheduled to travel from Incheon International Airport at 7:35 a.m. to Ho Chi Minh City at 11:05 a.m. (local time). The airliner notified passengers on the previous day that the flight was canceled due to the collective action of the pilot union. As a consequence, it called off OZ732, which was about to leave Ho Chi Minh City at 12:05 p.m. to arrive in Incheon at 7:25 p.m. on Sunday.

The airliner announced that its pilots’ collective action made it impossible for it to secure flight crew including captains and copilots, inevitably leading to the cancellation of the flights. Asiana Airlines’ pilot union has since last month worked to rule. This job action is generally taken within a legitimate and legal scope. However, it can cause flight delays and staffing issues in the airline industry.

The pilot union announced that it would go on strike next Monday. It is not allowed to go on full-range strikes because the airline industry is categorized as an essential public-service business by relevant law. However, flight scheduling is still likely to get in trouble given that 20 percent and 50 percent of international flight attendants and domestic crew members, respectively, can join in strike action.


bjk@donga.com