"Cabin Crew Facing Crisis as Flight Schedules Empty"

COVID-19 Crisis Expands Flight Suspensions Across Airlines
Flight Allowances Cut, Directly Impacting Livelihoods... "Worsening from This Month"

On the 9th, the flight information on the departure board at Terminal 1 of Incheon International Airport is empty. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] "Since I went on a quick turn flight (Quick Turn refers to a flight that returns immediately after landing at the target airport without staying) at the beginning of the month, I haven't had any schedules. There is an international flight schedule in the latter part of the month, but it's uncertain when it will be suspended."

As the skies were largely closed due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), national airlines were driven to the brink of a complete shutdown. Flight attendants, once admired as having a "dream job," are now facing a situation where they must worry about survival.

According to Incheon International Airport Corporation on the 18th, as of the previous day, the total number of flights at Incheon Airport (Terminal 1 and 2) was 225, a 79.1% decrease compared to the previous year. The number of passengers dropped by 92.8% to just 12,448. Incheon Airport, which used to transport an average of 180,000 people daily, is virtually in a state of shutdown.

With flight routes drastically reduced, flight attendants are also in a precarious position. Paid and unpaid leave has long become common across the industry. For example, Korean Air, the top national airline, operates about 30 passenger flights per day. Considering that there are about 7,000 flight attendants, this means a significant number are effectively on leave.

The decrease in work inevitably leads to a loss of livelihood. Typically, a flight attendant's monthly salary consists of ▲base pay ▲various allowances such as flight allowances ▲per diem (overseas stay expenses) ▲bonuses, but as the number of flights decreases, flight allowances and overseas stay expenses naturally decline. A flight attendant from a national airline said, "Including flight allowances and extended/night work allowances depending on the route, it varies by rank, but income is expected to decrease by about 30-40%, roughly 1 to 2 million KRW per month," expressing bitterness.

The situation is even more severe for airlines whose financial conditions are rapidly deteriorating. Eastar Jet paid only 40% of the monthly salary last month. On the anonymous workplace bulletin board 'Blind,' there were posts expressing concerns that wages for March and April might not be paid at all.

As the industry worsens to this extent, airline recruitment, which used to have competition rates of hundreds to one every year, has also been "shut down." Currently, the only airline conducting flight attendant recruitment is Air Premia, preparing for its first flight in the second half of the year (150 people). An industry insider said, "Until last month, many routes remained, but from this month, most routes have been suspended, so the income reduction for flight attendants will also accelerate."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.