

By Jun Ji-hye



Korean Air, Asiana Airlines and other local carriers are scrambling to reduce expenses amid a series of unfavorable factors such as the coronavirus outbreak and continuing nationwide boycotts of trips to Japan, company officials said Wednesday.



Asiana Airlines has received applications from its flight attendants for 15 days of unpaid leave starting Saturday as the number of flights on routes from Korea to China has significantly decreased since the coronavirus broke out in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.



The company has operated 26 routes to China, and of them, it suspended 12 routes and cut flights on 12 other routes.



"The measure is in response to reduced demand for Chinese routes," an Asiana Airlines official said.



The measure came after the nation's No. 2 carrier asked its employees in general services to take unpaid leave for 15 days to two years last year amid falling profits due mainly to lower demand for travel on Japanese routes.



In July last year, Japan began to impose restrictions on exports of key industrial materials to Korea, triggering an anti-Japan boycott here, under which Koreans opted not to travel to the neighboring country.



In December, Korean Air, the nation's top flag carrier, launched a voluntary retirement plan for its employees in a bid to cut its workforce and labor costs amid a growing deficit.



It was the company's first voluntary retirement program since 2013.



While flights to Southeast Asian countries are also expected to shrink amid growing fears over coronavirus infection, budget carriers are finding themselves in an even more difficult position.



Four coronavirus cases here have been confirmed in people who traveled to Thailand, Singapore and Japan, but not China.



Jeju Air, which has decided to suspend its 12 routes to China starting from March 1, encouraged its employees to go on unpaid leave for up to one month.



Eastar Jet, T'way Air and Air Seoul are also receiving applications for unpaid leave from its employees.



According to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of flights on routes from Korea to China has decreased by about 70 percent as of the second week of February since the Wuhan areas were designated as blockade areas on Jan. 23.



Amid lingering difficulties facing air carriers, the ministry has vowed to draw up a series of measures to support them, including a reduction in fees for the use of airport facilities, among others.

