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S.Korean Asiana Airlines Cancels Flight Due to Pilot Strike

Posted on: Monday, 18 July 2005, 09:06 CDT

S.Korean Asiana Airlines cancels flight due to pilot strike

SEOUL, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Asiana Airlines, South Korea's second- largest passenger airline, was forced to cancel a domestic flight Sunday after its pilots union launched an indefinite strike.

The cancellation of the flight to depart Gimpo Airport, located very near to Seoul, for Gwangju in southern South Korea, scheduled for 3 p.m. (0600 GMT), came hours after unionized pilots at the airline walked off the job to press for increased job security and improved working conditions, reported South Korean Yonhap News Agency.

An Asiana flight bound from Busan to Beijing, China, earlier Sunday was also delayed as the airline was seeking substitute pilots.

Asiana has said it will use non-union pilots to minimize any disruption to flights. The airline has 826 pilots, 310 of whom are non-union members.

The strike, which began at Sunday noon, came one day after last- minute negotiations with management failed to reach agreement. Representatives of both sides resumed negotiations earlier Sunday afternoon in another bid to settle the situation.

In June 2001, unionized pilots of Asiana and larger passenger airline Korean Air jointly conducted a six-day strike over their respective labor disputes, forcing the two carriers to suspend some domestic and international flights.

Asiana officials say they cannot accept some key demands of the pilots because they would interfere with company personnel and managerial policies.

Meanwhile, union leaders of Korean Air also decided to conduct a walk-out from next Monday.

Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS

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