Asiana's flight cancellations, delays rise due to pilot protest for higher wages

Flight cancellations and delays are on the rise on Asiana Airlines' domestic and international routes after its pilots began a work-to-rule protest last month for higher wages, the company said Monday. On June 7, the around 100 pilots at Asiana began the protest, in which they only do what is stipulated by company policies and rules. The work-to-rule campaign, which includes such tactics as the "overuse" of jet fuel and "excessive" maintenance work, disrupts flights, causing delays, the company said in a statement. From June 7 through July 16, Asiana had to cancel two international and 10 domestic flights, with 56 flights on international and domestic routes delayed due to the pilots' collective action, the statement said. "They are demanding a whopping 10% increase in basic pay for the 2019-2022 period as there was no wage increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is far higher than the company's proposed 2.5% rise for the four-year period," a company spokesman said over the phone. Other unionized workers, except for pilots, have already accepted the 2.5% wage increase for the pandemic-hit period, he said. The company is in talks with the union, but there seem to be differences between them over wages, the spokesman said, adding any industrial action could result in major damage to related parties.<br/>