Korean Air Also Shaken by COVID-19... Considering Paid Leave

The departure hall of Terminal 1 at Incheon International Airport was quiet on the 1st due to the impact of COVID-19. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] Amid the turmoil in the aviation industry caused by the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), Korean Air is reportedly considering implementing a rotating paid leave system for all employees.

According to industry sources on the 1st, Korean Air held emergency labor-management meetings with the general staff union in the morning and the pilots' union in the afternoon to discuss self-help measures in response to COVID-19.

It is reported that Korean Air proposed a plan to implement rotating paid leave for up to six months during the discussions. A Korean Air official stated, "We met with the unions consecutively in the morning and afternoon to discuss the introduction of the paid leave system," adding, "The details have not been finalized yet."

Korean Air has taken this step due to the rapidly deteriorating business environment caused by the COVID-19 crisis. Currently, out of 145 passenger aircraft, about 100 are grounded at the parking lot, and 80-90% of all routes have been suspended. In addition, Korean Air has mandated a three-month unpaid leave for approximately 390 foreign pilots to minimize fixed costs.

Other airlines are facing similar situations. Asiana Airlines has decided to implement 15 days of unpaid leave for all employees this month, and Eastar Jet, which is in a management crisis, is conducting unpaid leave for all employees. Jeju Air is also currently implementing paid leave for all employees through employment retention subsidies. Furthermore, salary sacrifices by management have become routine.

Industry insiders believe that since it is a form of paid leave, resistance will be relatively low compared to unpaid leave. An industry official said, "Since employment retention subsidies are provided up to a maximum of 1.98 million KRW per month, it is interpreted as an effort to reduce labor costs through this," adding, "Since it is not the worst-case scenario (such as unpaid leave) that was anticipated, if an appropriate consultation process is followed, consensus can be reached."

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